A Healing Process
by zeurin
Summary: Her emotions make him feel alive. His repulse her. When Leah is forced to go on a roadtrip with Seth, Emmett and Jasper, what'll happen? Seth believes it'll be a healing process while Leah only see chaos. So which is it? Leaper.
1. One: Forks

I know, I know! I was so going to put this up like three weeks ago, I swear! But this stupid computer didn't want to upload this for some reason, so I had to trick it on like three weeks later... Long story. What matters is that it's here now, so rejoice, readers! ;) Anywhoo, this story, which I already have about 70 pgs typed up in my comp, is inspired by aKindofGlory's Maps and Minisinoo's Cowboys & Indians, both great stories that you should check out. ;) Anyways, I'm a lazy updater, so yell at me if I'm slow.

Oh, and in case you haven't realized by now, which would be extremely lame, this is a LEAPER story. (Leah/Jasper, yes, I'm trying to popularize that name... Kind of lame, really) So don't read if you don't like.

Other than that... Enjoy! ;)

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It was done. It was all over. It actually happened.

I angrily splashed at my reflection in the pond, making it fade to murky nothing. I wish I could fade like that; disappear off this Earth with nothing to remember me by but the faint rippling of the dirty water. Unfortunately, I was tied down by the heavy weights of Seth and my mother. Yep, only those two. At one point of my life I would have considered many other people weights; my dad, Sam, Emily, Bella, Jacob, and my other high school friends. My dad was dead. Sam was a bastard. Emily married that bastard. Bella was a bloodsucker. Jacob imprinted on that bloodsucker's baby. I had no friends.

The pool of water slowly evened out until I could see my unsteady reflection again. I was beautiful. Stunning, actually. The most beautiful I'd ever been my entire life. The rare sunshine made me look like some kind of other worldly goddess. I was wearing a flowy red dress with my shoulder-length hair elegantly curling around my neck. I was actually wearing make-up. My nails were done. For once, I didn't have a single scratch or bruise on my body. This was as beautiful as I could ever hope to be my entire life. Yet, it wasn't enough.

Because in the end, Sam had married Emily today. I was standing there in my floor-length, silk dress, not a single scratch on my body, a good half a foot taller than Emily in my black stilettos (long abandoned somewhere in the woods behind me) looking so much more elegant and beautiful than Emily that no one could deny it, and yet he didn't even look at me twice before he sealed his perfect life. I spent hours on my hair, yet he married Emily. I was the most stunning woman in the room, yet he only had eyes for Emily. I gave him _everything_ I had, yet he chose Emily. I'm really _that_ pathetic.

Disgusted with myself, I drew my knees to my chest and threw a rock into the pond. I relaxed a little as my image faded. Because, in the end, no matter what I do or how I look, Sam's going to be with Emily. He loves her. Yes, he imprinted, but he still had a choice. And he chose _her_.

A tear slid down my face. The simple, uncontrollable human action made me shake with rage. I angrily wiped it off. I will not cry. I'd done that too many times. I wouldn't give Sam the satisfaction of making Leah Clearwater shed another tear. It ends today.

Because Sam was married. Officially gone forever. It was utterly revolting how I still had the sliver of chance in the pit of my heart that we'd end up together. Four year… That was a _hell_ of a long time. A fucking _lifetime_ in teenage years. All that gone with a side glance at my cousin. All that we built… _Everything_… Gone.

My dad… Gone. My heart… Gone. My pack, my normality, my friends, my… my life. Gone. Gone. Gone. _All_ gone.

I could feel tears welling up again. Rather than glance into the pond and see my own disgusting weakness, I wrenched a rock the size of my head, out of the ground with sheer strength to chuck at the water when a flash of white caught my eye in the reflection. I let the rock tumble from my fingers and immediately jumped to my feet and turned around.

"I know you're there, asshole!" I yelled, fury burning my blood. If anyone saw me this weak, I'd claw their eyes out and feed them their own dicks.

A few seconds later, a figure appeared from behind a couple trees. It took me a good couple seconds to recognize that it was the blond leech, Jasper. That surprised me for an instant before rage quickly overpowered. I had never encountered the emotion-fucker before. What could he _possibly_ want from me?

"I apologize for startling you," he easily said.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!"

"By your tone, I infer that you are upset. I apologize for upsetting you."

"Stop fucking apologizing! Just tell me why the hell you're stalking me!"

Was it just me or did he actually just wince? "I wouldn't go as far as calling it stalking, but yes, I did follow you here."

Ha! I knew it! Confusion clouded my face, "Why?" I asked, forgetting to be rude.

He shrugged, "I was hunting in this area when I smelled you. Your emotions were so… strong that I thought the cause behind your emotional distress was something dire."

Did all leeches speak like this?! Oh, yeah, this was the Civil War inbred, redneck one. "Well, now that you've seen that I'm fine; will you _please_ leave me alone?" I hissed through my teeth, not wanting to be completely uncivil.

He seemed to hesitate. To my surprise, he began walking towards me, stopping within a couple yards, "Your emotions seemed to be… particularly powerful," he said.

"Why do you give a flying fuck?!" I demanded, angry that a bloodsucker was trying to talk to me about my emotions. My blood boiled again. He looked sympathetic for a second before I decided I wasn't mad at him anymore. In fact, I wasn't mad about anything. Like all my worries disappeared and I was free… It was the same feeling I got when running alone with none of the boys around, when nothing existed but my instincts and the rhythmic sound of my paws hitting the ground. I hadn't felt like this in… too long. Sam didn't matter anymore. Nothing did.

Suddenly, I realized that this was all the blond leech's manipulation, and I should probably get pissed over it, but I was too high on this new feeling to care.

"I was simply concerned about your wellbeing."

I blinked. It took me a second to realize he was answering my earlier question. "Why?" I sighed, watching my red dress twirl in the slight breeze. "We've never met before and I hate you. Shouldn't you be delighted that you have a chance to sneak attack me?" I didn't know why I was asking these questions. I was simply curious and too stoned out to care about the weight of my words. I'd shoot myself in the head tomorrow.

"There's something… different about you, Leah Clearwater." I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected him to actually answer my question.

"I know. I'm the only actual bitch in history." I said, rolling my eyes.

He gave me a look. Was that pity in his eyes? Cuz if it was, I'd have to rip that pretty yellow hair off his scalp… Tomorrow. Once he stops acting as my drug dealer. "No, it's not that. It's… the way you _feel_."

WTF?! "What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" I voiced my thoughts.

A muscle in his jaw clenched, "I've been alive for over a hundred and fifty years, but I've never encountered anyone with emotions like yours."

I laughed bitterly, "Wow, I'm a freak to the freaks, too!"

Blondie gave me an annoyed look, "Don't say that. Bella was the exception to Edward's power and I wouldn't consider her a 'freak'."

I sniggered, "And look where they've ended up. What're you insinuating, leech?"

Ok, maybe sexual cracks weren't so great to make to a 150-year-old vampire. He didn't even seem to get it. "I suppose you aren't the exception," he thoughtfully said, half to himself, "but rather you have a strange effect on my power the same way as Bella does on Edward… However, that might not even be me. It might be you. Then again, it's Bella who's different, not-"

"You do realize you're talking to yourself?" I boredly said, watching a butterfly flutter its orange wings. Man, I loved being high!

"Oh, I apologize."

"Well, stop it. Just answer my question."

"Which one?"

Oh, now the leech had a sense of humor. Just great. I struggled to remember under the spell he had me under. Oh, yeah, "Why are you here?"

His cold topaz eyes locked on mine. For any other woman in the world, the sight might have taken their breath away, but I was unfazed. They didn't do much for me… Ok, I'll admit, they were ridiculously smoldering… and he was ridiculously attractive… and I didn't mind the whole surfer dude blond dye job, but he was still repulsive, as physically attractive as he was, since he was still a vampire and we were kinda mortal enemies… Too much time had passed. Why didn't he blink? Or breathe? Or- Well, not breathing made sense. If I smelled as bad to him as he smelled to me, I would stop breathing as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't control some of these things. Why wasn't he speaking again?

Finally, after flat out staring me down for a couple seconds, he began speaking again, "There's something about you," his voice was so low I had to struggle to catch it, "Something so… raw, so… primitive, so… passionate about your emotions. They're just so _strong_."

I blinked at him in confusion, "Cool. Is there anything wrong with feeling strongly?"

He shook his pretty blond head, "No, it's just that…" He turned to dazzle me with those absurdly alluring eyes of his, "Your emotions are so… _intriguing_. Prepossessing, even."

So he gets a kick when I'm a moody, depressed bitch. Great. "So take your little calming spell off."

He did. Immediately, I felt the consequences and rage, bitterness, and self-pity returned at a full-blast. "Why the hell were you messing with my emotions?!" I yelled at him. To my surprise, he closed his eyes and breathed in deep. His nose twitched as he smelled me, but his complete ecstasy overcame the scent.

"I wanted to keep you calm," he admitted, his eyes still closed, "I wanted to keep you from experiencing any strong emotions."

"_Why_?" I demanded, crossing my arms hotly over my chest. This conversation was lasting too long. Who ever thought I'd be carrying an actual conversation with a vampire? I was losing my touch. I needed my own time to bitch over my messed up life. This blond, movie-star-like leech was throwing off my groove.

Jasper's eyes snapped open, scaring me with their feverish lust. He took a few steps forward, out of the shadows that swallowed him up and into the direct sunlight. My breath was immediately knocked from my chest as he sparkled like a diamond in the light. No- diamond was too boring and ugly a thing to be used to describe his magnificence. Every plane of his unreasonably smooth, hard skin had burst into a strange multi-colored rainbow that outshined the sun. The visible skin he showed was like a crystal ball, reflecting colored light, every shade imaginable, into the air. I almost had to squint to look at him. Sure, I might be a werewolf and he a vampire and bound to despise him for the rest of eternity, but I was a sucker for beauty and this was just… unbelievable. But I managed to pick my jaw off the ground and stare at him with cool indifference.

Those molten gold eyes were going to kill me. "I feel what you feel." Duh. "You make me feel _alive_." Oh… no duh this time. That was rather unexpected.

I couldn't help but blink like an idiot at him, "_What_?!" That wasn't quite a declaration of love, but it might as well have been.

He groaned and closed his eyes in bliss, "See, even your confusion is more powerful than anything I've ever picked up from other people. I haven't felt for over a century. I never know when I feel something, if it's my own or someone else's. But it's never my own. I can't feel anything. I seem to only be able to feel others'. But with you, Leah, I _feel_. Maybe I'm just feeding off your emotions, but I feel. And that's enough for me."

I considered it. It didn't make any fucking sense at all. "Why do you want to feel confusion? Anger? Jealousy?" I wondered, "Cuz that's all I can _fucking_ feel these days."

He breathed in deeply, "You're mad at me, Leah."

"I know."

"I _like_ it."

I couldn't help but frown at him. He might as well be jacking off to my emotions. I should be put in the same room as Sam and Emily to get worked up enough for Jasper to procreate other Renesmees… On second thought, _ew_. I chuckled slightly to myself at my own messed up mind. I could see Jasper enjoying the side effects of my humor, too. He really was like a little emo boy. But most emos cut themselves to know that they could feel. No blade was sharp enough to cut Jasper so he used me instead. That made me laugh. I was Blondie's switchblade. Ha.

He raised an amused golden eyebrow at me, "Are you laughing at me?" He questioned.

"You betcha," I said, giving him a cheeky grin. Unfortunately, nothing I do or say can piss him off. He was too happy basking in my emotions. Humph. Why was I here again? Time to make my exit. It would be horrid for my reputation to be spotting chatting with a leech.

"You look beautiful, Leah."

I paused, shocked with his small confession, "_What_? And if you're just saying these things to get random emotions out of me, I swear, I'll-"

"Sam doesn't know what he's missing."

I fell quiet for a few seconds. Was a Cullen actually trying to cheer me up? This day kept getting stranger and stranger. "I'm gonna leave now," I said, picking the bottom of my dress off the grass and briskly walking away. As soon as I found cover, I'd undress, then take off. But where were my shoes? Oh, well, I could just-

"Looking for these?" He asked, a black stiletto dangled over his index finger.

I glared at him, "Should I even ask why you have my shoes?"

He shrugged, "Bread crumbs are harder to follow, Gretel."

So the blood sucker _did_ have a sense of humor. "Because the little wood creatures kept eating them," I said, giving him a dirty look. Not at all amused, I marched right up to him and snatched my shoes away.

"I _could_ eat your shoes if I wanted to…" Jasper mused.

I looked up to see those white, fangless teeth gleam. _Yes, you could_, I mused in my mind, _not like I'm gonna let you, though._ I twirled the heel around my finger once and sauntered off. It wasn't until I was halfway to my house when I remembered how I was supposed to be sad.

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Idk why, but Jackson Rathbone as Jasper really doesn't work at all for me... No offense die-hard fans, but he's too little kidish for me. Jonathan Waud has it, though his face's a little too sharp, or a blond Sean O'Pry, who definitely has that haunted look in his eyes going on for him... Yup. A mix between the two is what I imagine... Really random here...

Anyways, reviews = love! ;)


	2. Two: Leah's Bedroom

Thanks for the wonderful feedback, guys! ;)

So I was reading all I had over and realized something important; there is absolutely no plot at all until about the tenth chapter... .... Ok, there's a little bit of plot in the next couple of chapters, but other than that, nothing really. I just wanted to have them all kind of familiarize with each other in a way that my messed up sense of humor makes completely awkward. I think two people would have to know each other for a while, especially if they're as different as Leah and Jasper, to fall in love... Anyways, this is strictly LEAPER.

Enjoy! ;)

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***

I slept for a long time. The minute I barged home, I raced up to my room, slammed the door shut and stayed there for the next fifteen hours. My mom and Seth were both too sympathetic, but I liked to think scared, to bother me or even say anything. I was _that _Leah again. There was nothing for them to do but wait it out.

My dreams had been strangely peaceful and quiet last night. Like the wedding hadn't occurred. It was strange. I got nightmares on the nicest of days, yet when actual horrors happen, I slept like a baby. Hmm… And I would have kept on sleeping throughout the day if it weren't for the disgusting reek that woke me up. I laid in bed for a few moments, shielding my eyes from the glaring sun streaming from the curtains I forgot to close last night, to think of what could produce such a smell. Seth was my number one suspect until I remembered that he had headed to the Cullens' house after the wedding. That little traitor was still probably there. My mom… It was probably her cooking, then. Every once in a while, she'd whip out the Quileute cook books and try to make something none of us could pronounce. And it'd smell like crap.

Finally, I grudgingly removed my arm from my face and sat up- and nearly screamed when I found Jasper sitting on the chair two feet away from my bed. "Holy shit!" I managed to say out loud without raising my voice enough to alarm my family, "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!"

"You asked me that exact same question in the exact same way fifteen hours ago," he announced, sounding amused. I was not. To say the least, I was outraged.

"I don't give a flying fuck! Don't you know it's kinda creepy for you to stalk me here?! Won't your little girlfriend get pissed or something?!" I clutched the sheet to my neck, even though the night gown I was wearing was quite conservative.

He chuckled, "Alice understands."

I glared at him, "She understands how you stalk innocent women and watch them sleep?"

He raised a perfect golden eyebrow, "She understands how I feel around you."

I gave him a look, "Well, that's not that much better, pal."

"She was the one who told me that I'd be disappearing from her visions around this time and implied that I meet you here."

"Oh." Well, that was just strange. Maybe, after half a century of lovin', they were sick of each other. Spice up the bedroom. Experiment with other species. Ew, that was _so_ wrong. I shuddered and quickly pulled my head out of the gutter. Neither of us said anything for a moment as Jasper was reveling in my emotions and I was simply puzzling over that new piece of information. Weren't the two bloodsuckers attached at the hip? Oh well. Why did I give a damn?

Suddenly, something occurred to me and I turned to glare at him, "I fucking _hate _you, you leech. Why the hell are you stalking me?!"

"Why do you hate me?" He innocently wondered, cocking his golden head to the side.

Ugh. Vampires weren't allowed to be so damn adorable. "Hello?! Werewolf here," I said, pointing at myself, "My entire existence revolves around destroying your kind. Kinda hard to be buddy buddy when I'm too busy tearing your specie's throats out."

"And what, exactly, would cause you to do such a thing?"

_Stop being so damn nice to me! I can't get yell at you for that! _"Because you're a murderer!" I burst out before I could help myself. A dark shadow flashed across those tawny eyes and to my surprise, I felt guilt instead of satisfaction. Was the fucker fucking with my emotions again?!

The shadow cleared and his eyes were clear and light again. He smiled pleasantly at me, "Not anymore," he brightly said.

I opened my mouth to retort with something equally harsh to get him upset again so he'd hopefully leave, but he interrupted me with his super vamp speed before I could get the words out.

"I've been thinking-"

I snorted, "Thank God," I muttered under my breath. He gave me a strange look. Oh, oopsie. That was a Jacob and Seth snub, wasn't it? Not a bloodsucker one. I'd have to think of better.

Jasper chose, and wisely so, to ignore my comment, "-And I don't think it's _you_ at all anymore. It's _me_."

I blinked. Was the leech finally going crazy? "What are you talking about?"

"I apologize. I should have clarified. I was referring to my sensitivity towards your-"

"Oh. You mean how you're stalking me to get your high off of my fucked up emotions," I waved a casual hand at him, "Continue."

He looked as though he wanted to comment on what I just said, but decided against it. "Anyways, like I was saying; your emotions must not be uncommonly strong else I doubt you would be able to control them, but rather, I think it's me who's abnormal." I snorted when I heard him say that. Finally, someone who'll blame himself instead of me. I might have even liked him if it were for the fact that he sucks dry Bambi for breakfast. "I appear to be particularly sensitive to your emotions, although I'm not sure of the reason behind this. In fact…" A little frown appeared on his perfect face, "Do you remember when we had to defend Bella from Victoria and the newborns."

I rolled my eyes, "Duh."

"Well, when I was… offering strategies for destroying the newborns, I saw you and felt your emotions for the first time… It was like being lit on fire. Like no one but the two of us were present. Your emotions consumed me. Burned me. I was fearful until now."

Something about what Jasper had just described sounded remarkably familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on just what… "What made you change your mind?" I asked.

"Pure curiosity." He admitted, "But, then again, didn't curiosity kill the cat?"

"But 'satisfaction brought it back'," I couldn't kept but put in. I learned the second verse to that when I was in middle school. I snickered at the memory of tenth grade sex ed… Our teacher was telling us how we shouldn't have unprotected sex no matter how curious we were because 'curiosity killed the cat'. I just had to yell out the second half out in front of the entire class… First time I'd seen Mrs. Harper completely flabbergasted. She even gave me a detention for that, damn it.

"I suppose that does apply to this situation," His thoughtful words brought me back to reality.

"Yeah… wait a minute- did you drug me when I was asleep?" I asked, remembering my too peaceful sleep.

"Yes."

"Oh." I wanted to get angry and yell at him for manipulating my emotions, but instead, I felt grateful. I wasn't gonna say anything, though. There was _no_ way I was thanking a leech.

Unfortunately, he could sense my gratitude. The corner of his lips twitched, "You're welcome."

I glared at him, but couldn't find anything to say. Instead, my eyes drifted to my lap and I began playing with the hem of my nightgown… Wait, _nightgown_?! Suddenly, it hit me. I was in my nightgown, on my bed, talking amiably with a fucking bloodsucker in my fucking room. This was _so_ messed up.

I didn't have to say anything. As soon as Jasper experienced my emotions, he jumped to his feet, "Judging by your sudden anger, you're ready for a major blowout or something of equal extremes, so I best leave before you blow."

I nodded grimly, my hands shaking with anger in my lap, "You're not even allowed to be here… If the others found out…" I clicked my tongue in warning, "You have ten seconds to get the hell out of my room before I rip your dick off and... No, wait," An evil look appeared on my face, "Before I rip _Edward_'s dick off and suffocate you with it." I hissed, my eyes slits.

He quirked an eyebrow, "Why would I suffocate?" He asked, "It's not large enough to block my pharynx."

My mouth dropped open in complete astonishment. He was a vampire! And a Cullen, at that! Wasn't he supposed to be like, I don't know, saintly or whatever? Saints didn't challenge the manliness of their brothers! Jasper basked in my bewilderment for a second before making his way to my open window. He looked at me with amusement in his eyes, "Human vulgarity hasn't changed much in the last century and a half. Only the publicity of it has."

I shook my head and closed my mouth to keep the flies from flying in. My anger had left instantly. All that was left was complete, exhausting incomprehension, "Fine, your own dick then?"

His crooked grin was infuriating, "Now you're thinking."

And before I could think of something degrading and offensive to say to him, he jumped out my window, leaving me alone with only his overripe stench to remind me of him. Who knew the quiet, southern gentleman was so vulgar? Sure, I'd always known Emmet was (even going as far as making sexual comments to me in front of his wife… though I didn't mind because it was interesting seeing the blonde squirm) but everyone else in the family was a saint, right? I guess I'd misjudged Jasper. _Edward has a small dingdong. _I snickered quietly to myself. Maybe if I told Seth that, he wouldn't act like such a lovesick puppy around him. Hell, I should get me a megaphone and coast up and down the coast, announcing it to the whole female population of Washington. Though that would just probably be a relief to him, it would cause me such vicious pleasure that I wouldn't care.

I sighed as I rolled out of bed. Though I was still exhausted, the revolting stench Jasper left was unbearable…

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I've always thought that Jasper had a twisted sense of humor... After all, he's a military man... =/

Anywhoo, I know this is kind of a filler chapter, but I wanted to further establish Jasper's fascination with Leah... His need to be around her. Cookies for anyone who guesses correctly what's going on and how this will play out! ;)

Reviews= love!


	3. Three: The Cullen House

I'm pretty busy right now, as school starts on Monday... ); and I'm throwing a b-day sleepover party on Friday... and I need to finish my ap hw... and I need to take my cat to the vet... and I'm giving blood this weekend... but I managed to smooth this chapter over... Hopefully there aren't any errors.

Anywhoo, this is probably the longest chapter in the entire story. I just couldn't think of an effective way to break it up, so this is like two chapters in one.

So, enjoy! ;)

_

* * *

One Week Later…_

There's nothing special about today; it's your typical Wednesday, yet I woke up much earlier than I usually do; it's only ten in the morning. Usually, I was as good as dead until noon. Patrols are killer, especially if you only have three wolves in the pack. It's just the smell. The disgusting reek of vampire that just wouldn't leave my room. I tried everything- opening all the windows and leaving the door open for a whole day and night, but it was still there in the morning, spraying Febreeze until I nearly passed out from inhalants. It didn't work as it just left me with a headache. To make matters worse, my mother came in my room this morning and complimented on the "perfume" I'd been spraying in my room. I almost slapped her.

I went as far as considering sleeping on the couch for a few days, but then I remembered how Jacob or some of Seth's friends sometimes liked storming in unannounced at the crack of dawn to raid our fridge. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, but I think I'd prefer not waking up in the mornings to prepubescent boys leering at me in my pajamas. But still… This scent was _killing _me. Seriously. Since those wimpy leeches couldn't take me out the honorable way, maybe they thought killing me with the stench was the next best thing to do. It'd work plenty out. Better not get the word out; I didn't want Seth or Jacob found dead in their beds because Jasper decided to visit them at night… Ooh. Really strange wording… Stupid messed up mind of mine!

I groaned and forced myself out of bed, trying not to breathe through my nose. It didn't help much. I could still _taste _the stench on my tongue. I was shifting through my closet for clean clothes when a new thought occurred to me. My eyes narrowed. Was the scent getting… _stronger_? There could be only one explanation for that…

I walked over to the chair next to my bed and timidly put my hand on the seat. I frowned as I noticed no change in temperature between the chair and the room. I snorted in amusement at myself. Well, what was I expecting? Butt heat? Or, since he was a bloodsucker, butt… chill? Besides, what would Jasper have done? Jump out my window the minute I started to wake up? Suspiciously, I peeked out my closed window for a minute, looking for vampire-looking prints on the flower bed below, and laughing at myself when I saw none. Besides, I had a nightmare about Bella and hot pants last night… Ugh. I shuddered. If Jasper was there, he would undoubtedly have tried to change my emotions and therefore turned my dream around. Fortunately, he hadn't been here since the first night. Unfortunately, I dreamt of Bella in short shorts… This was gonna scar me for life.

I yawned as I dressed and made my way to my bathroom. On the way, I passed Seth's room. It was the second time he hadn't slept in his own bed in a week, but it was nothing to worry about as the Cullens loved having him over… Wow, that sounded wrong. I was so messed up in the mornings after patrolling. Snorting to myself, I headed to my bathroom and brushed my teeth. I didn't even bother looking up at my reflection in the mirror above. I knew I wouldn't like what I'd see, and there was no point upsetting myself over the inevitable, now was there? After rinsing, I forced a comb through my messy hair. Ow. I probably looked like I was letting all the woodpeckers of Forks hibernate in my hair. Not attractive. Another reason why the mirror was taboo.

After I finished my minimal hygiene routine, I headed to the kitchen to pour myself a bowl of cereal. Mom wasn't here, which could only mean one thing, and I shudder to think of it- she was at Charlie's. It was nearing the holidays now, though it was hard to tell in moody Forks, and I suppose this was their way of celebrating… Yuck.

I sat there idly at the counter, shoveling in coco puffs from the salad bowl to my mouth as I considered what to do with my day. I _could _do what I've done yesterday… and the day before… and the day before… and the day- oh, you get the picture! Sitting on the couch, eating gummy bears and watching House reruns until it was my turn to patrol. Yuppers. Great fun. But it isn't as boring as it sounds. Sometimes, I'd go _completely _crazy and mix it up by watching the ER. Ooh! So badass! Yeah, maybe not… Or, for once, I can drag my ass out of the house and actually _do _something… Like walk ten yards out of my house and get the mail… Nah, that's crazy. I didn't want to overexert myself. Might want to start with something easier… Like walking three feet to the stove and actually making myself real breakfast… Nah, that was probably even crazier. Yup. Gummy bears and House it was!

I was just about to make the energy-consuming move to the couch when a noise caught my attention. I whipped my head to glare at the phone ringing innocently on the counter. It was probably my mom, asking me for something. Yuck. Was it really worth _all_ this effort to answer it? But then again, it could be Seth, complaining that Emmett ate his brain or something, as useless as that body part was. Hmm… Might as well get my daily exercise for the day, though if it was just a cell phone salesman, I was going to rip his head off and crush it to a bloody pulp.

"Hello?" I said, idly twirling a loose thread in my green tank top.

"Hello. Is this Leah?"

Holy crap! That was a bloodsucker voice, "Yes," I apprehensively said, "Who's this?"

"This is Carlisle. I'm afraid to tell you, but your brother, Seth, has been injured in-"

"_Did Emmett fucking eating his brain?!_" I bellowed.

"…What?" I could hear him blinking on the other end. "I'm not sure what you're talking about but I assure you, Seth is perfectly-" He never got to finish for I slammed down the receiver and was out the door before he could even process his next words.

Ugh! Mom took the car! Damn! What's a werewolf supposed to do now? Oh yeah. Duh. I ran into the trees and removed my tank top and the shorts I stole from Seth and tied them around my leg. In less than a second flat, grey fur exploded everywhere and I was running full speed towards the Cullens. My mind was surprisingly devoid of the annoying presence of my alpha. I had expected him to shift and try to talk me out of my vampire blood-lust as soon as possible… Oh well, I might spare Renesmee, who's only half leech, if he's lucky. That meant no girly-wolf jokes for a while, for the half-breed's sake.

I caught myself ten yards from crashing into the Cullen mansion full out wolf and sunk back to the woods to hastily change. Ugh. All that hair combing this morning was for nothing.

Edward was out front in the front by the time I was done, probably trying to protect his brother. I stormed up to him. "Leah, how lovely of you to show. I must assure you, Seth is-"

I brushed past him without a second glance, too angry to even cuss him out. I'd get him, and that little wife of his, later. "_Where is my brother_?" I demanded, shifting my eyes back and forth between the creepy baby who sat on the couch and Esme, who jumped up to greet me.

"Leah, calm down, there's nothing to worry about," the motherly one tried to assure me.

"Hey, what's going on?" A huge, hulking figure came sauntering in from the other room.

My nose twitched and I growled at him. _Emmett…_ Without thinking, I marched right up to him and punched him in the gut. He was so surprised that he didn't defend himself and took it with a pained grunt. Esme, Edward, and even Bella's freak of nature, all immediately flocked over to us to protect the big oaf if necessary. I wanted to snort. Sure, I was badass and all, but I hadn't even shifted. No need to get their panties in a knot… yet.

"What the hell, wolf-girl?!" Emmett groaned, rubbing his stomach.

I responded by punching his arm, "What'd you do to my brother, you brainless, albino Vin Diesel stunt double?!"

He looked as though he wanted to laugh at my lame insult, but then he remembered my fists of steel and kept his face blank, rubbing his arm, "It was an accident!" He quickly defended himself, "We were just messing around when- Ow! Jesus, woman! What's your problem?!" There went his other arm.

I was surprised no one tried to stop me yet. I guess Edward knew I wasn't going to hurt him… As for the others? Well, I guess Emmett wasn't unpopular only in my book. "I know my brother doesn't use that organ of his very often, but _come on_, dude, you don't just _eat _it! What if he decides to use it later on in life?!"

Emmett looked confused. He opened his mouth-

"You're getting your mythical monsters mixed up, darlin'." A cool voice drawled behind us. I snapped my neck to see who it was, "It's zombies you're thinking of here." Jasper smoothly made his way down the stairs.

Edward started laughing while Emmett looked at me in utter disbelief, "You thought I _ate _Seth's brain?!"

I shrugged, "You're kinda creepy; I wouldn't put it past you."

He was still in shock, "But _Seth's _brain?! Seriously, what am I to gain from a mutt's brain?"

I glared at him, "Watch it; 'mutt here." My glare turned into a satisfied grin, "Unless you want to lose a limb," My smile widened, "Or something even more important… How would Rosalie feel if I break lil' Emmie in half?"

He smirked, "I know you just want to get your hands on it."

"Of course," I easily said, trying not to gag. Then, a spark of an idea appeared in my mind and I grinned at Edward, "Hey, Edward, how does it feel to-"

A cold hand griped my elbow and I gasped at the coldness. "Leah, you probably want to see how your brother is doing."

It was so cold that it almost _burned _my skin. A strange trickle of worry slid down my spine. I quickly shook off Jasper's hand, but followed him, nonetheless. "I think you should let him know your assessment of his dick," I whispered to him before grinning cheekily and walking into the door he held open for me. Neither Jacob nor Seth ever held the door open for me. Huh. I needed to start bullying them into the habit.

I walked into an extravagantly decorated, oversized room- to find Seth on the bed, shoveling Swedish fish into his mouth with one hand while flipping through channels on the flat screen in front of him. There was a cast on his leg, but other than that, he looked perfectly fine. He put down the remote when he saw me, "Hey, Leah! You actually came in here!"

I quickly took a seat on the corner of the bed and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Seth! Never scare me like that again! I was seriously freaking out! You made me punch Emmett three times because I thought he ate your brain, but never mind that. What happened? How are you feeling?"

"Wait… _What_?!"

"Long story," I said, absently brushing it off. "What'd that oversized bear cub do to you?"

Seth fidgeted nervously. He stuffed a gummy fish in his mouth and took his time chewing it up. I waited patiently. "So Emmett challenged me to an arm-wrestling competition." I frowned. It was his leg that was broken. "And I obviously lost, so I challenged him to a foot race, which I obviously won, so he challenged me to a go-fish game, which he surprisingly won, so I challenged him to a chess game, and since that takes brain power, I obviously won and-"

I rubbed my forehead in exhaustion, "Stay on track, Seth."

"Oh, right… So we tied and gave up and Emmett decided it'd be cool to go cliff diving… And I went first and hit a rock and shattered my leg. It was great!"

I should probably be mad at his carelessness, "Ha, Emmett didn't jump?!"

"Nah, he was too chicken!"

I laughed, "Good job, bro!" I said, bumping his fist.

"Thanks! My leg should heal within a couple of hours, then I can jump again!"

"Bring me with you next time- I wanna shove the leech off the cliff and see if he'll shatter."

"I don't think he will," Seth said, a thoughtful look on his face.

I frowned and considered it, "I guess not, but he'd still scream like a baby!"

Seth laughed, "We should try a bigger cliff."

I nodded, "Like the one like twenty miles up the road where the water fall is?"

"More like Niagara Falls."

I grinned, "He'd definitely shatter then."

"I've always wanted to jump off a waterfall."

"Me too. I hope I don't break my neck."

"Don't worry, you'll probably only break your leg."

"You think? Fine. Let's do it next week."

"Coolness!"

Suddenly, I realized there was an unwanted presence in this room. I turned my head to find Jasper hovering in the doorway, shaking his head slightly in amusement.

"What's so funny, leech?" I demanded hotly.

His lips twitched, "Your brother just broke his leg jumping off a cliff and now you're suggesting to jump off a _bigger_ cliff next week?"

Seth sniffed loudly in indignity, "It was an _accident_."

He raised an eyebrow, "Emmett pushed you off a hundred foot tall cliff."

My blood boiled, "_Emmett!!!_" They had to wait until I stalked in the other room, punched the big bag of useless vampire meat in the back of the head and came back before talking again.

Jasper had a little blissful smile on his face when I returned. I glowered at him, "Oh yeah, I forgot, you like me angry, don't you?"

Seth nearly spat out his mouthful of gummies. "Wh- _what?!_"

I suddenly realized how wrong what I just said sounded. I smirked at Jasper, deciding to let him explain. I could actually see how the leech was just the tiniest bit uncomfortable under Seth's overprotective death glare. "Seth, calm down," A second later, via his powers, Seth did just that. "Leah worded it… inelegantly but her gist was accurate… We aren't entirely sure why, but I experience your sister's emotions particularly strong. It's rather… nice."

Seth straightened his back, "If you touch my sister, I'll rip you to shreds," it was strange hearing him say it so calmly and civilly.

I snorted with laughter, but I was the only one. I blinked as I found both parties taking his threat completely seriously. "I wasn't planning on it," Jasper gravely said.

Suddenly annoyed, I bounced up from Seth's bedside and rolled my eyes, exiting the room, "Oh, just kiss and make up already," I called over my shoulder. Before I could make a break for the front door, the domestic one sprang up out of nowhere in front of me.

"Leah, are you leaving so soon?"

"Er. Duh."

She looked crestfallen, "But I've just made cookies for you and Seth!"

_I'd rather eat Seth's regurgitated Swedish fish_, I wanted to tell her, but she looked so pretty and innocent that I couldn't. I sighed loudly, "Thank you, Esme. That sounds good." Trying not to pout, I let the over enthusiastic vampire lead me to the kitchen where, sure enough, a plate of cookies laid. I grudgingly sat down on a stool and pulled a cookie towards me. I sniffed it for a long second before deeming it safe and nibbled on the edge. I was thrown back by the chewy sweetness of it. "This is delicious, Esme." I couldn't help but compliment.

She beamed with happiness, "Thank you, Leah. I've never made cookies for Seth before. Do you think he'll like them?"

I nodded vigorously, "He'd eat anything made for human consumption, but these are really good."

"I'm glad you like them. Oh, I forgot! Humans prefer drinking some kind of liquid with them, don't they?"

"That's not-"

"Aha! Milk! There's some in the basement! I'll get it." She turned to leave, but before exiting the room, she turned, hesitantly, to stare at me, "All is forgotten, Leah?"

It took me a moment to realize she was talking about how I stormed in and yelled at Bella a couple months ago. My eyes softened, "Just don't bring it up." We exchanged a smile before Esme disappeared, noticeably delighted in the fact that she could use more of her domestic skills. I took another bite of my cookie. Esme really was a good cook… It brought me back wistful memories of my father. He was always the chef in the family. Since Dad's untimely death, we haven't had cookies in the house; Sue couldn't identify the difference between salt and sugar.

Suddenly, a familiar stench entered my nose and I turned my head to frown at Jasper, who miraculously appeared sitting to my right. "What do you want, BS?"

He blinked at me, "Did you just call me bullshit?"

"Or bloodsucker. Or blond stalker. Amazing how ambiguous that word is, eh? Just use your imagination."

He chuckled lightly to himself, watching me eat with keen interest. I sighed, putting down my half-eaten cookie. His gawking was enough to make anyone lose their appetite. "_What_?" I asked, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.

He shook his head, "Is it _that_ unusual for someone to actually like being around you?"

I immediately felt anger, but once I stopped to assess what he actually said, I frowned. In his own queer way, I suppose he was actually… complimenting me. Saying he likes being around me. I felt like gagging. "I know, I know! You like my crazy emotions. Why don't you find a suicidal friend and leave me alone?" I got out of my seat and hotly marched out of the kitchen.

"Hi, Leah!" Jacob called from the living room where he sat with a giggling demon spawn on his lap.

I knew he was shocked at finding me in here. "Jacob," I spat back, just trying to reach the door before BS followed me.

"Leah!" I heard a clear, musical voice call and I looked down to find the little baby/vampire/human creature a few feet away from me, holding out her arms desperately, as though she honestly thought I was going to hold her.

"Demon spawn," I shot back, wrenching the door open and marching out the house. Once outside, I felt a brief pang of guilt as I remembered I ditched Esme when she was getting me my milk, but one nice one in a house full of crazies wasn't enough to make me stay.

I was just about to go behind a tree and phase when a cool breeze passed over me, "Are you leaving because I've offended you?"

I jumped in surprise to suddenly find Jasper directly to my left. I clutched my pounding heart in shock. These leeches were way too sneaky for their own good. "Duh." I said, trying to walk past him. Unfortunately, he took that as a cue to step in front of me. I sighed and put my hands on my hips, glaring at him and trying to make him move with sheer willpower.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to cause you distress."

"Great. Now will you please move out of my way?" I almost begged. I was desperate to get the hell out of this creepy, haunted mansion-like place… No, more like the Arkham Asylum.

"You don't seem to like me." Duh. Even Seth, who wouldn't mind much if Emmett ate his brain because it'd make no difference, could figure that out. I thought leeches were supposed to be intelligent! And wasn't BS supposed to be like prehistoric?

"Nope. I don't. Sorry." I said, but I didn't mean it. I was currently trying to find a way around this immovable ice statue in front of me… Maybe if I rammed him in the knees and started running to the left? If I phased, there's no way he can catch me.

Jasper's mouth tightened, "My power is basically charisma." Why was he telling me this? "Everyone I've ever encountered can't help but unconditionally take to my personality. Even your shape shifter friends all begrudgingly like me. But yet, you don't. In fact, you don't just dislike me; you seem to actually _hate _me."

I grinned, suddenly proud of the fact I didn't fall for the good-looking blond ice cube's charm, "Am I the first one?"

"Yes." He admitted.

"_Ever_?"

He thought for a second, "I suppose the Yankees didn't like me but I imagine that if I had time to actually speak with them and have them get to know me, they would."

I blinked at him. Who in this _entire_ universe brings up the Civil War in modern conversation? "You're a bloodsucker. I'm a werewolf. We're genetically made to hate your kind. You've killed and ate people. I _am_ a person. Do you get the picture now? Besides, you're just so freaking annoying. Stalking innocent women in their bedrooms isn't gonna win you brownie points." And with that, I snaked past him and haughtily strolled into the woods.

"Alright…" Jasper finally said, looking slightly disturbed. "But remember," a smirk now appeared, "There's a thin line between love and hate."

I turned around sharply, but he had disappeared…

* * *

Geez, Leaper writers have got to step it up! I feel like I'm the only one updating and I can't get my inspiration unless someone else contributes... =/ In fact, I've grown so desperate that I'm looking towards Callwater and all other nonoffensive (to me) hookups. Do you want this to happen?!

-clears throat- Anyways, reviews=love! ;) Remind me why I wrote this long ass chapter. ;)


	4. Four: Niagara Falls?

Another kind of a filler chapter... I'm probably only going to be able to update on weekends from now on b/c of my killer schedule this year... Ugh. School's officially started and I'm already drained. :(

Anyways, people have been mentioning the fact that Jasper and Leah have been getting too flirty with Alice still around. I wish I could get rid of Alice (in a loving way, since I love her!) but trust me, what I'm about to do to her is a bazillion times more interesting. Just you wait. Muhahaha. But anywhoo, would it be easier if I say this isn't a romance? What if I say this is just a random story with these random characters? Because they sure as hell aren't even the slightest bit interested in each other that way... yet. Besides, when have they been flirting??? -mind goes blank- I say the same things to my friends and family all the time!!! OMG! POLYGAMY! OMG! INCEST! -rolls eyes- No. No romance at all. Yup. And that's the end of this long author's note which really isn't necessary, now that I think about it... But since it's already this random and long... Is anyone else super excited for The Time Traveler's Wife coming out on Friday??? I know I am! Right when I'm out of school, I'm watching it! I seriously like cried during the trailer! Yup, I'm _that _kind of pathetic, mushy person... I have a whole chapter of AP US History to read, so I think I'm going to stop this now...

Enjoy! ;)

* * *

Was it morning already? I groaned and tried to shoot my head… It didn't work if you didn't have a bullet… or a gun… or the energy to get either. I haven't been sleeping well these days. I took one last minute to enjoy the warm coziness of my bed before rolling out, forever thankful that I didn't fall right on my butt. After I shook the stiffness out of my limbs, I made my way down to the kitchen. Like usual, Seth was already there, bouncing up and down with excitement, spilling his corn flakes everywhere.

"Leah!" He exclaimed as he saw me, "I'm excited! Are _you _excited?"

It took me a second to realize what he was talking about. Oh yeah. Today was the day we were going to jump off Niagara Falls, via the challenge Seth made to Emmett a week ago. Great. Now I actually had to put on make-up and look presentable to the world. "Yeah. Um huhm. Great fun," I mumbled to myself as I poured some fruit loops and dug in. Fortunately, Seth could hear my mumbling with his enhanced wolf hearing.

"Leah, why aren't you dressed?! Emmett's coming around in twenty minutes!"

I groaned. Of course. Typical. The minute I sit down for some good old breakfast with my family, or half my family as Sue was at Charlie's… ugh, we have vampires coming over to throw us off a waterfall. Cussing Seth out under my breath (and not caring if he heard), I rushed to my room, stripped, pulled on my teeny white bikini and dragged on T-shirt and shorts over. Satisfied, I went to my bathroom and brushed my teeth. Just for the heck of it, so I could bat my eyelashes at Emmett once I kicked his stony ass, I put on my water-proof mascara so my long eyelashes were outrageously thick and curly. They were my best feature, I've been told again and again. Well, might as well put in use what my mama gave me.

I was just shoving towels, sunscreen, my keys and cell phone, and a shirt for Seth in a bright orange beach bag when there was a knock on the door. I threw the bag at Seth before wrenching open the door. "_Why_, Lord?!" I moaned, looking up at the heavens slightly before glaring at a smirking Jasper.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

I simply brushed past him to find Emmett waiting in the driver's seat of a black convertible. I neither knew the type of car it was nor cared to learn. Without waiting for Seth, I hopped over to the passenger seat. Seth came out a few seconds later, "What? How come _she_ gets shotgun?!"

I gave Emmett a look which he understood, "Sorry, kid," he said, "But I need a hot chick in the front with me. It makes up for being caught seen with a puppy like you."

Seth pouted, but crawled in the back, nonetheless, "But Leah's no _hot _chick!"

I gasped in feign hurt, throwing all of my barely shoulder length hair everywhere. "But your little high school friends don't think so!"

Seth visibly winced. Emmett looked amused, "What happened?"

I grinned, "So Seth has his little high school entourage over a couple weekends ago, but he didn't know that they were just using him for _me. _So they go over and march directly to my room, steal my underwear and take pictures of me when I'm sleeping. When I wake up, I find love notes on my pillow." I laughed, "I got twenty bucks for letting one kid touch my boob!"

"Nice!" Emmett crowed, slapping my hand. He's still laughing as he started the car and pulled out of our driveway. The other two were not as amused.

Seth sniffed loudly in indignation, "It's _not _funny," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's as bad as prostitution."

The two vampires in the car stiffened as they were both quite aware of my temper, but I merely laughed, "Nice one, Sethy!" I said, reaching over to slap his shoulder, "And FYI, I made _so _much more than a prostitute that morning. Tell them they're welcome any time."

Seth pouted and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "My sister's _not_ a hot chick. Humph."

"Why are you here?" I asked, not needing to raise my voice as he was directly behind me.

I caught Jasper's smile in the rearview mirror. "Someone had to watch over Emmett and make sure he didn't do dumbass shit."

I blinked. Civil War veteran leeches could cuss?! Emmett turned around, his brow furrowed, "I know your secret plan. You want to push Seth off Niagara Falls before me! But what you don't realize is that I'm smarter!" Here, I had to snort with disbelief, but he ignored me, "I have a secret plan as well!" He chuckled darkly under his breath.

The rest of us all rolled our eyes simultaneously. A car full of college boys suddenly pulled up next to us. They took one look at me from the open convertible and began honking and cat-calling. I grinned. Thank god for mascara. I blew a kiss to the skinny guy driving and he pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket. How juvenile… But still cute. I couldn't help but laugh. Behind me, Seth and Jasper were not amused.

"Pass them," Jasper requested, his voice cool.

Emmett sighed, "You guys are no fun." But he passed them, nonetheless.

I grinned as I sat back in my seat, "See? Your sister _is _a hot chick, after all!"

Seth visibly blanched. "Emmett, turn the car around," he calmly said, "I wanna beat them up for looking at my sister that way."

I scoffed, "Don't get yourself in a mess. I already agreed to come on this stupid trip didn't I? It's probably gonna take all day before we get back. So I wasted an entire day of my life for you. You owe me one."

Seth fell silent, which was surprising. Emmett looked confused. He opened his mouth to protest, "A day? Wolf-girl, it's gonna take much-" Seth quickly kicked the back of his seat, efficiently shutting him up. I frowned at their odd behavior but cast it off as nothing. Stupid boys. Ugh. Well, at least it was only for a day. My nose twitched as an unexpected shift in wind brought Emmett's scent to my nose. For some strange reason, it's as though he smells worse than Jasper. Probably because I'm more used to Jasper's scent. Annoyed, I attempted to stick my head out the window. Emmett noticed this and snorted.

"Hey, you're supposed to be my hot _chick_," he reminded me, "Not my hot_dog_!" he started laughing, as though he was actually funny. To my dismay, Seth actually chuckled as well.

The wind shifted as we made a sharp turn. Suddenly, it was _my_ scent that was blowing Emmett's way. I saw his nose twitch with annoyance. "Haha. Very funny, Emmett. Were you a standup comedian in your last life, Carrot top? Or should I say, Mop top?" I couldn't help taking a snub at his curly, unruly hair. Basking in the wind, I tossed my hair over my shoulder and inched closer to him, enjoying the evident disgust on his face. I laughed as I saw him try to discretely put his face out the car.

He looked at me, "You stink, dog."

"Imagine having to smell her from behind here," Jasper quietly pointed out.

He'd been so quiet; I'd almost forgotten he was there. I glared at him in the mirror, "I feel worse for Seth," I said, grinning sympathetically at my brother who had been breathing through his mouth the entire time. To make matters worse for Jasper, I literally tossed my hair over the seat and into his face. I smirked, satisfied as he winced and shrunk back with repugnance. He didn't breathe after that.

It was blissfully quiet in the car for a long time. We had finally left Forks and were on the highway, headed dead east. The furious wind whipped at my hair driving Emmett crazy until he finally made Jasper put the top on. Now, it was just quiet. If it was just me in the car with these two leeches, I wouldn't have been so surprised at the silence. What do I have in common with these two? Seth should be chatting away about Spongebob or how he doesn't know anything about the female anatomy or other dumb boyish things sixteen-year-olds talk about. Instead, he looked rather apprehensive. Hmm. Maybe Jasper didn't just freak me out. But, nonetheless, I wasn't complaining. This was nice. Just me, the road, and the stench of two vampires in a tight container. I felt myself nodding off. Maybe it's just that I'm so used to Jasper's unfading reek in my bedroom that I've now associated the vampire odor with bedtime. Instead, I pulled myself straight and looked out the window at the landscape rushing by us. Emmett was driving way too fast. But then again, if he wasn't driving this fast, what would be the point of even driving? We had already passed Seattle.

"Ugh, how much longer?" I finally asked, after about an hour of driving, shifting myself in my seat to a more comfortable position. Even I had gotten tired of the leering college boys… and girls, though they were too dignified to honk at Emmett and Jasper. I noticed the way Seth and Emmett exchanged nervous glanced in the rearview mirror and that confused me. What were they hiding? "What's going on?" I demanded, "Where are we going?"

"Niagara Falls, remember, wolf-girl?" Emmett easily said, relaxing a little. Behind him, Seth nodded enthusiastically.

My eyes narrowed. There was something they weren't telling me, "Where exactly is Niagara Falls again?" I asked suspiciously.

Seth swallowed loudly, "You agreed to this, Emmett, you tell her."

He glared back, "Well, she's _your_ sister! You tell her!"

I was just pissed now, "What the hell is going on?!"

Behind me, Jasper chuckled softly, "They've tricked you in going on a road trip to Niagara Falls," he told me.

I blinked, "I know! I _agreed_ to go! Why is everyone freaking out?"

"You agreed to go, right? Do you _promise_ you'll go to Niagara Falls with us?" Seth quickly asked.

"Yes. I said I'll go so I'll go. What's everyone's problem?"

"Pinky swear that you'll go all the way!" Seth demanded, sticking out his pinky. I stared at it for a second. Seth knows perfectly well that I could _never _go back on a pinky swear. It was against everything I believe in. There must be some catch to this… But I didn't see the big deal. We were almost there, as it is, so what's the problem?

"Sure," I sighed, linking my pinky with his. Seth looked extremely satisfied.

"You do know Niagara Falls is seventeen miles above Buffalo, New York, right, darlin'?" Jasper's slight southern drawl came out when he was amused.

My eyes bugged, "_WHAT_?!" I started shaking uncontrollably. Emmett eyed me warily. I don't think he'd like it if I went wolf all over his pretty little car.

"Leah, calm down," Seth gently told me and I started feeling waves of tranquility flow through me, no doubt courtesy of Jasper. "I thought everyone knew where Niagara Falls is."

I turned to growl at him, "You backstabbing moron! You knew I failed world geography!"

Emmett couldn't help but snicker at me, "Ha. Who fails high school classes?"

I shot him a dirty look, "Who give a flying fuck where Cambodia is?"

"It's in southeast Asia bordering Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam." Jasper automatically said. My jaw dropped with anger. Hell, it would have taken me longer to tell you where the US was!

I shook my head, getting it out of the gutter, "Emmett, turn this car around _now_!"

He hesitated, but Seth laughed in the back seat, clucking his tongue at me like a mother hen, "Now, Leah, aren't you forgetting something?" He wagged his pinky finger at me, looking so gleeful, I'd like to rip that very finger out and see if his bottomless pit of a stomach could digest it. Instead, I remembered that he's my brother and my jaw clenched in anger. I wanted a puppy, but _no_. Mom pops this loser out instead… Well, he might as well be a puppy.

"Put that finger down before I _break _it," I snarled at him. Seth instantly did so, knowing my threats weren't to be taken lightly. Jasper's artificial calm was barely enough to keep me from phasing, but I'm still _pissed_. I took deep breaths to keep from socking Emmett in the head… Wait, that might not be such a bad idea… A few seconds later, I was pissed, _and_ in pain from my bruised knuckles. "Ow, you have such a hard head, asshole!"

He grinned at me, completely unfazed by my punch. I suppose he's gotten used to them. "If you think that's hard…"

I didn't listen to the rest of it. "Exactly how far away is New York again?" I asked, my voice surprisingly level.

"I dunno." Emmett said, effortlessly gliding past a minivan while looking at me at the same time, "Two thousand? Three thousand miles?"

My stomach dropped. "That's gonna take… _Weeks_…" Weeks in a fucking car of leeches. Could I take it?

"Yup! Maybe even a month!" Seth happily said, "Isn't this great? We can finally have some great brother/sister bonding time."

"With two leeches!" I exclaimed, feeling the need to bash my head on the car… Or something harder; on Emmett's head… or his… No, I wasn't gonna go there.

I wanted to scream and cry in frustration. This was horrible. I felt claustrophobic, like I was trapped in this car for the next few weeks with no escape… All because of that goddamn pinky swear. I remembered when Seth was still a kid and I was a teenager, Dad would bring us on lengthy road trips all the time. It was okay when I was young, but when I hit high school, I began bitching about it because it took precious time away from long summers of just me and Sam… Now that I think back on it, I hated how I picked Sam over Dad. I'd give anything for another long, lazy car ride with just the four of us, even if we had to have daily puke stops for Seth and his weak stomach… Immediately, I felt tears cloud my eyes. I could feel Jasper's worried eyes on me in the mirror. I ignored him and rested my head against the window. Before my wet eyes could overflow, I felt a surge of peace through me and my eyes dried. I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath, grateful. Seth and Emmett frowned at me, missing my entire emotional breakdown, thank god. I sighed loudly, composing myself, "I guess I'm tied into this disastrous plan," I admitted, grimacing, "But there are flaws; what'd Mom say? 'Sure, I'll let you go on a trek across the country with two bloodsuckers?!'"

Seth grinned, "I told her that it would be a healing process for you."

I tried not to scowl, "Alright… But I didn't bring anything. Here I am, wearing my bikini thinking that'd we'd jump and be home by nightfall," I said, snapping the string of my swimsuit.

Emmett blinked, "You're wearing a bikini?"

"Yup. Too bad you'll never see it now."

He groaned, "Just a little peek?"

"Nope."

Seth raised an eyebrow, looking like he wanted to slap Emmett for his perversion. Didn't we all? He cleared his throat loudly, "Anyways, Alice was in on our plan, so she took the honors of packing for you. Your bag's in the back."

I groaned. Great. The pixie leech packed for me. All I could imagine was pink, frilly dresses; the kind Renesmee wears. I had to find an excuse to get out of here or for at least one of them to scat, "Hey, bulldozer, won't Rosalie be pissed if you've gone on a field trip with _werewolves _for this long?"

He shook his head, "Nope. Rose's cool with this. She knows I've always wanted to jump off Niagara Falls," his eyes tightened with determination at that, "Besides, you're not enough for her to get jealous of."

I smacked the back of his head, "Watch it or Seth's your new _hotdog_."

He frowned, rubbing his sore head, "Hey, her words, not mine!"

I sniffed loudly. Ok. Maybe this didn't work. New tactics. "BS, midget girl's letting you off the leash?" Was it just my imagination, or did the temperature in the car just cool by a million degrees? I shivered and rubbed my hands over my arms. No one spoke for a minute.

"Yes," Jasper finally said, any hint of a southern drawl gone, "Alice was fine with this." As soon as he spoke, the strange tightness in the car was gone and I could freely breathe again. I frowned with confusion. What the hell happened? But, as it is, I'm bitchy Leah so I don't give a damn about other people's problems, especially not stalker boy's. Annoyed that everyone but me knew what was going on, I flicked on the radio. It was set to some boring, classical station. Ah. So this was _Edward's _car. I pressed a random button and Britney Spears flared on. I grinned. Just to upset the three men who all thought they were macho, I cranked up the volume…

* * *

I know it sounds stupid that Leah doesn't know where Niagara Falls is, but to tell you the truth, I seriously thought it was right above Washington! When I set out to write this story, I had absolutely no intention of a roadtrip or anything like that... This just... worked out well. ;) The stuff I have them do on the roadtrip is much more interesting than what I was planning, so you should thank me for my brain fart! Whoo!

Reviews=love and periods of brief relief in the author's chaotic, AP-driven life.


	5. Five: Southeast Washington

Ugh. School's killing me. And since I'm too lazy to update my diary, I'll rant here. I havea huge test Wednesday with five study guides due tomorrow. The cute guy who sits by me in math won't flirt with me. I speak Spanish with a valley girl accent and my teacher's noticed... and commented about it in front of class. I had a half-pound cheese and bean burrito for lunch. I'm PMS-ingand spent a whole hour curled up in bed huggingmy teddy after taking three advil. Everyone at school thinks I'm an airhead. I'm carrying a 5 lb bag of dirt to school tomorrow for a project. My slutty friend's trying to use me to get the attention of some jackass... My life sucks.

So instead of doing hw, I'm updating!!! YAY!!! Again, filler material and I apologize for the length, but I had to let Leah get revenge on the boys somehow. ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Two hours and all the _great _new techno music later, Seth declared he was hungry and we looked for a rest stop. We were somewhere in southeast Washington by now. Emmett and Jasper quickly agreed to the stop. I'm guessingthey were getting tired of my music; this station seemed to be extremely feminist, playing people like Pink, Beyonce and Avril Lavigne. My type of music. Too bad they couldn't complain; both Emmett and Seth felt too bad about dragging me into this mess. As for Jasper? I think he just really didn't care. We stopped at a small diner and took a booth. I sat with Seth across from the two vampires.

"Hi! My name's Jenny. What can I getcha?" A preppy strawberry blonde girl chirped as soon as we sat down.

I quickly listed half the items on the menu and a soda.

"Diet or regular?" She nearly spat at me, jealous at how I was sitting with the most attractive men she'd ever laid eyes on. I wanted to laugh at her and tell her she could have them if she wanted; just wait until she's on the first date and her date's sucking the life out of her. Being stuck in a stuffy car with two leeches, one who has a fondness of perverted jokes and the other who likes stalking me or simply waiting at a diner as a normal, typical _human_ girl? Hmm… This Jenny chick could switch places with me any day.

"_Regular_," I said, a wide smile plastered on my face. If my predictions were correct, and they always were, Jenny was the type to starve until her insides caved in order to "fit in". She wouldn't be able to believe that someone hanging with such good-looking guys could stand to eat fatty food. I liked to spite people.

"Alright," she said, scribbling down on a pad, "And what can I get you, sir?" Her voice immediately turned to honey as she spoke to Jasper. To me, she looked like a bimbo, twirling a long blonde curl in-between her fingers.

He looked down at his menu, "Just onion rings," I wrinkled my nose, "No… uh, a chocolate milkshake instead." Mmm. That sounded good. I knew he was ordering for me, knowing what to order based on my feelings.

"I'd like a burger, fries, fish sticks and…" Emmett frowned at Seth, "A coke?" Seth nodded. "Um, yeah. That's it."

"Anything for you?" She said, directing it to my brother. To my surprise, and utter disgust, she used the same flirty tone for him.

"Just a shake, thanks," It was obvious he was going to eat the food Emmett ordered.

"Of course. Coming right up, guys," Jenny collected our menus before shooting another coy look over her shoulder and disappearing in the back.

I sat back in my seat, "I want to go to Milwaukee."

Three pairs of eyes blinked back at me, their understanding slowed by their male brains, "What?" Seth clarified his confusion.

I shrugged, "Well, if I'm going on this stupid road trip, I might as well get something out of it… and I've always wanted to go to Milwaukee."

"Done." Jasper said, without batting an eyelash. "We have to pass that area anyways, so we might as well travel north a couple miles and humor you."

I crossed my arms over my chest. It's no fun if they were going to participate. "And Chicago."

Emmett nodded, "That's right below Milwaukee."

"And… New York City."

"Great. Rosalie's birthday's in a month and I need to get her something from there."

My eyes narrowed, "_Miami_."

Ha! I knew their easy going streak wasn't going to last. Jasper frowned, "I suppose if you really want to go there, we can take a detour and go south for a couple weeks…"

_Weeks?! _"Never mind…" I pouted, "Just the other three."

"Well, I've always wanted to see Gettysburg." Seth said.

Jasper gave him a dirty look, "No. I refuse to step foot in the city where the Confederate army was defeated."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, _wow, _BS. That was kinda five million years ago. Prehistoric."

"No. It was only one hundred and forty-six years ago." My jaw dropped as I ogled at my brother. Great. _I'm_ the stupid one here?! But then I caught Emmett making faces at the blue jay outside the window and I felt better.

"Don't be a smartass, _dumbass_." I grumbled under my breath. Hell, I bet Seth's _teaching_ the world geography class by now… I never really talk to him about school; it's a possibility. He's always been the straight A, teacher's pet, good cookie type. I'm more of the type who'll get a 3% in Geometry, but an A+ in ceramics. Memorization is not my thing. Especially not the stupid dates of ancient vampire wars.

Before Seth could retort back, the preppy blondewaitress returned, loaded high with all our food. She quickly passed it out, then stopped to straightened her too-short skirt like she was some kind of runway model, "Is there anything else I can getcha?" She purred, batting her eyelashes at Jasper and turning her words double edged.

Jasper shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he realized that Jenny was directing this to him. "No, we're fine. Thank you."

She seemed mildly irritated, but flipped her hair over her shoulder and strutted back where she came from. I had to snort back my laughter. What Jenny didn't realize was that _yes_, Jasper did want her, super bad. But not in the way most girls wanted. I'm not sure she'd agree to have the blood sucked out of her… Unless she thought that was kinky.

"She annoys me," Emmett grumbled, crossing his oversized biceps over his chest. My sentiments, exactly.

Seth snorted, inhaling his burger at the same time, "You're just jealous that she likes Jasper better!"

I nearly choked on my food. I quickly took a long sip of my coke. Emmett had _Rosalie_! The most damn beautiful creature on this Earth! How could he _possibly_ be jealous over a little diner girl? Maybe it was your typical testosterone induced male competition. I was surprised Emmett didn't immediately rip off his shirt to compare pecs with Jasper… Though I wouldn't exactly mind. Except when Seth decides to join in. That's where I cross the line. "Or maybe she's secretly pining for me because she knows I like 'em hard to get," I said with a wink.

Emmett snorted in laughter while Seth looked like he wanted to regurgitate the food in his bottomless pit for a stomach. "That is _so _hot!"

"_Leah!_" Seth groaned, looking ready to smash his head on the counter, "That's so _gross_!"

I shrugged and took a drink of his soda. He didn't protest; he's used to having me steal his food. Stolen food always tastes the best. "Let's change the subject," I suggested, not wishing for my brother to claw Emmett's eyes out for looking at me the wrong way.

"No. I _like _the subject we were on." He wiggled his stony eyebrows at me suggestively.

Jasper frowned, "Emmett, we're changing it."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "We could have had _fun_ on this trip, but you just had to tag along," he mumbled under his breath. Of course, Jasper heard every word, but he wisely chose to ignore it.

"We're going into farm county soon," Seth said, referring to Montana, "What are you guys gonna do about hunting then?"

Ooh. That was actually a good question. I looked expectantly at the two vampires in front of me. "Relax, Seth," Jasper said, and he did so a few seconds later, "Montana is 60% prairie, but there's more than just cattle out there."

"Yeah," A huge smile appeared on Emmett's face, "There are deer and elk and… oh, I don't know, _wolves_."

Seth and I growled at him simultaneously. I huffed with indignation and crawled out the booth to idly wander around the old-fashioned diner. Oh, _nice_! There's a jukebox! I quickly made my way over and fished a couple coins out of my pocket. I shuffled through the songs. Weird ass songs though. I was never a big fan of Elvis. I felt a presence over my shoulder and I look behind me to see the blonde waitress again. "Er, hi?"

"Hi! I'm Jenny!" She chirped, offering me her hand.

"Leah," I awkwardly took her hand. Hmm. Maybe she's not here to bite.

"So…" She grinned and jerked her head towards the booth full of guys, "What's the story between you and _them_?" She said this a bit disbelievingly, as though she can't believe I'm with them. Ugh. I thought I left all the bitchy, double-faced girls in high school.

Suddenly, I was feeling bitchy back. I put a huge grin on my face, "Oh, _them_?" I waved a dismal hand towards them, perfectly aware that they could all hear us and were all listening in. "I guess you've noticed that we're not really from around here?"

The guys were on high-alert now, chatting idly about football, but I knew better. Did they really think I was gonna spill? Jenny nodded, "I've been wondering about that. Where ya'll from?"

"Well, I'm from Forks, but…" I waved her closer. Intrigued, Jenny stepped into my personal space. I pretended to look sneaky and shifty-eyed. "I picked those three up from Cambodia." I dropped my voice down to a hiss, "Male sex-trafficking is legal there!"

Across the room, I watched Seth gag on his coke in the corner of my eye. Emmett quickly started thumping his back. I tried not to laugh. "Oh, _god_, are you saying…?" Jenny's eyes were as wide as saucers.

I nodded, my face grim, "Yep. Now, it's a hundred a night, but the big, curly haired one's kinda freaky, so I'll let you have him for twenty bucks."

She opened her mouth to say something, but Seth rapidly went over and yanked on my arm, "Come on, Leah," he growled, dragging me out the door.

"Give me a call!" I yelled after Jenny, "I'll even make a deal; two for one fifty!" I waited until I was well outside before I burst into laughter.

Jasper and Emmett appeared at our side a few seconds later. Emmett looked annoyed while Jasper looked rather amused. Seth, however, was beyond furious, "I can_not_ believe you called us your… your _bitches_!" That just sent me over the top, gripping onto his shoulder to keep from tumbling over.

"_Twenty dollars_?!" It was Emmett's turn to get pissed, "I'm worth more than these two put together!"

"None of us look Cambodian, Leah," Jasper said, walking to the car.

I shrugged, "Yeah, well no one really knows where Cambodia is; she wouldn't know the difference," I was about to sit in the front seat when Seth brushed past me.

He gave me a look, "After that humiliation, I at least get shot gun." I laughed in response, but let him go, nonetheless. He's right, but this is a pretty bad way of getting back at me.

Jasper held the door open for me, "After you, pimp." I was too pleased with myself to even slap him…

* * *

Leah's revenge is worse than medieval torture... At least for Emmett's ego, lol.

So I'm going to go do my hw now... Wish me luck!

Warning: reviews= love and random spazz attacks throughout the author's otherwise mundane life.


	6. Six: Montana

As opposed to last week when I updated, I'm in such a good mood! I don't want to elaborate, but life's really good right now. ;)

I wish I could reply to all your amazing reviews, but I really don't have time with my hectic life. :/ But in general, I heard a lot of positive things about the Leah/Emmett interactions. I'm glad you all liked it! ;) And if you all think that's kinky and dirty... Well, just wait for the following chapters. I felt like I was rolling around in mud writing them, lol! I'm sorry about the length of the last chapter, so here's a longer one.

Enjoy! ;)

* * *

In the car, I realized why Jasper was the only one not upset with me; he was probably on cloud nine feeling my giddiness. I felt a bit annoyed at that. I bet the only reason he's even here is because of me. I didn't like acting like his drug dealer. I didn't like being used. But for some reason, I just didn't care that much. Though I hated the idea of this whole thing at first, now I'm beginning to see it as a blessing. If Sam and I were still together, our anniversary would be in five days. My hands unconsciously tightened on my seat. I didn't want to spend that day alone. Hell, even spending it with my brother and two bloodsuckers is preferable. Feeling my distress, Jasper, who sat next to me in the back seat, sent a wave of numb tranquility over me. Ah. That's why I didn't mind him. I was his coke dealer, but he was my pot dealer. We evened each other out that way; we needed each other, as much as I hate to admit it.

In front of us, Emmett and Seth were having a little fight over the radio. I groaned, "It's getting late," I was telling the truth; it was past sunset by now, "Where the hell are we?"

"We'vejust passed through Idaho," Jasper quietly informed me, "We're to arrive at Missoula, Montana soon. Then, we'll stop for the night."

"Where's that?" I asked, yawning loudly. This crazy, emotionally bipolar day has sucked my energy level dry.

"Very west of Montana." He patiently explained.

"Alright," I leaned back in my seat. "We should've taken a plane," I bitterly muttered under my breath…

***

An hour or so later found me in my hotel room, cringing as I eyed the bright red duffel bag the pixie vampire packed for me. But, unfortunately, I was still wearing my bikini and shorts and a t-shirt in late autumn, which looked pretty suspicious, so I had to wear whatever crap Alice packed for me. I just hoped it wasn't all pink. Sighing, I walked over and unzipped the pack. I was pretty pleased as I found jeans, shorts, and pain shirts. Hmm… She must know me better than I thought. I threw down a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt on my bed, then realized I forgot the essentials. I dug around some more to find a black leather bag. I unzipped it to find make-up and hair supplies. Maybe all vampires weren't so bad, after all… That was before I saw the underwear Alice packed.

My face heated, "What the hell?!" Immediately, Seth rushed into my room. Before I could explain myself, Jasper and Emmett entered as well, both looking concerned.

"Leah, what's wrong?" Seth asked, frowning at me.

I glared at all three of them, holding up the red, lacy thong for all of them to see, "What the hell is wrong with your wife?! Is she _encouraging _me to nail one of you?!"

Emmett snorted with laughter and walked over to twirl the unnecessarily sexy underwear in his finger, "Good ol' Alice," he happily said, "I don't think Rosalie would like it, though."

I wrinkled my nose, "Yeah, _great _ol' Alice. 'I packed ya slutty undies, Leah, cuz I want ya to bang my husband or brother!'" I put a hand on my hip, "What was she expecting?"

Seth looked disturbed by all this, "I'm getting out of here," he mumbled, immediately exiting my room. I guess he still couldn't accept the fact that his sister was a chick who other guys wouldn't mind banging.

Emmett grinned, "Since my sister took all the effort of packing those for you, you should at least take the liberty of modeling them for us."

I growled and threw a pillow at him. He didn't flinch when it hit him directly in the chest, "Gross, Emmett!" I yelled, wanting to rip my brain out from the unwanted images that suddenly popped up. "Aren't you supposed to be sucking the life out of Bambi right now?!"

Emmett looked offended… or maybe he was just annoyed that I wasn't going to strip for him. "We were _going to_ until you started yelling because, believe it or not, we were _worried_ about you."

I snorted and dug around in the bag until I found a normal pair of black undies, completely lace free. I threwthem on the bed and walked over to pull my shirt over my head. Emmett let out a loud whistle. I turned around sharply, clad in my white bikini top, but uncaring about the fact, to give him a stern look, "Why are you two still here?!" Emmett's leering was a given, but how Jasper's eyes couldn't help but wander below my face kinda surprised me. Maybe it was only Edward who was the innocent one of the family… Huh. No wonder he was a virgin for like a century. Well, I guess that's what Bella gets for falling for a vampire; a big virgin, small-dicked block of ice. Nice. That's _exactly_ how I imagined my prince charming!

"She's thinner than Rosalie, _and_ her boobs are bigger," Emmett hissed to his brother as though I couldn't hear, "_Nice!_"

_Not as pretty, though…_I couldn't help but add. Instead, I sighed loudly, putting my hands on my hips. It wasn't as though I was uncomfortable in my body; I had long accepted myself for who I am. It was just… Well, it was odd having two vampires comment on my boobs, ok? "I'm not taking anything else off until you _get out!_"

"Was that directed at Emmett or the both of us?" Jasper wondered, his eyes, thank god, firmly on my face.

I glared at him, "You know, if I really were to stoop that low, I wouldn't want just _one_ of you." I batted my long lashes at him.

His jaw dropped. Emmett looked as though he fell in love with me. There was silence in the room as I considered just turning around exchanging my bikini top for the plain black bra. "Whoa." Emmett finally said. "That was so… _hot_! And messed up!" He shook his head slowly in complete dumbfounderment.

I scoffed and decided that, to hell with it, and undid my bikini top. "Uh, Leah? Emmett's a bit… hormonal currently. I think it would be wise to keep your clothing on."

I rolled my eyes, "Relax, BS," I said, tugging on the bra, "I'm not _that _desperate. Even if I do have twenty bucks on me." I cheekily said, strapping myself in.

Emmett was too distracted to hear my insult and get offended, "Shit, I just realized; this is like a reverse strip tease! _Nice_! Rose always did dress too fast."

I quickly tugged my white tee over my head and finally turned to look at them, "Alright, listen here; I'm _not _gonna take off my pants in front of you two, so if you guys aren't gone by the time I count to ten, I'm gonna-"

I didn't have to continue, "Come on, Em. This has gone too far," Jasper said, gently tugging on his brother's sleeve, "I'm here to watch you so you don't do these dimwitted things. Leering at a deadly werewolf with attitude is considered a dimwitted thing."

So he _was_ the responsible one, after all! Nice to know there was a male whose judgment wasn't impaired by his penis. "One," I said in a loud voice, "Two. Three."

Emmett shrugged his brother's grip off, "Shh. Jasper, if she gets pissed, she might attack. And everyone knows hot, angry sex is the best!"

" Six. Seven_._ _Eight_-" I didn't have to go any further for at that second, my pissed brother stomped in.

"Emmett, if you don't get out of my sister's room _now_, I'll shoot your… your…" Damn. And he was doing so well! Well, Sethy was never the one for insults. That was my department.

"He'll shoot your dick off and have a pink scrunchie surgically implanted there," I boredly finished for him, examining a nail.

Emmett seemed to pale. He grabbed Jasper and they were gone in seconds. I blinked. "Hey, do you want to grab a Big Mac?"

Seth blinked back, "Did you bring money?"

"Nope, but I've got this," I pulled out a shiny platinum credit card from my back pocket.

Seth squinted at it, "Is that…? Is that Jasper's…?"

I nodded, "Yup."

"But how…?" He tried to remember when, in the entire day, did I have enough leverage to steal a credit card off a super strong, super fast vampire with super reflexes.

I shrugged, "There are some things in life you shouldn't know about, bro." I gravely said, walking over to sling a casual arm around his shoulder. His mouth opened to ask, but then it looked as if he'd rather not know and we walked outside together.

***

I managed to get shot gun again, but this time Jasper was driving. He wasn't as crazy of a driver as Emmett, but he drove just as fast if not faster. His driving was just so smooth that you could barely feel the speed. Though Emmett was the poster child for road rage, I'd prefer Jasper with me in a drag race. We had only been driving for an hour, but I was already beginning to feel restless. "We should probably call Mom," I said over my shoulder to Seth. Before I could process what was going on, Jasper whipped out a small black phone from his pocket and handed it to me, not taking his eyes off the road once. I blinked, but took it, nonetheless.

"Yeah. Mom's at Charlie's, though. She didn't want to have an empty house to herself for so long, so Charlie offered for her to stay at his place until we got back." Seth helpfully explained.

I cringed. God knows what the two overdue lovers were doing in an empty house with all the kids gone wandering off with vampires. Oh gross! Ew, ew, ew! I sighed and plugged in Charlie's number instead. A few rings later, someone picked up. "Hello?"

Was it just me, or was Charlie's voice suspiciously raspy? Ew, ew, ew! I cringed, but luckily he couldn't see, "Hey, Charlie. It's Leah. Is my mom there?"

"Oh, hi, Leah!" His tone brightened, "Seth told me about how he and Emmett tricked you into going on a road trip to New York with them. How's it been going?"

"Great." I spat out, suddenly furious at Seth. I turned around to shoot death glares at my quivering brother. All three guys in this car could clearly hear every word. "Just _amazing_."

"How've the boys been treating you?"

I clenched my teeth tightly together. I knew if I said anything negative about them, Charlie would get upset and want to talk about it, or worse, want to talk to _them_. So instead, I put on my brightest, preppiest voice, and ignored all the times I'd been sexually harassed in the past twenty-four hours, "Oh, just great, Charlie! I'm getting along _so _well with all of them! I feel like we are best friends already!" This gave a whole new meaning to lying through my teeth. Feeling my distress, Jasper chuckled lightly next to me.

"Really? Even the big one? Leah, I know that the two of them have girlfriends or something, but I don't trust the big one at all. Stay away from him."

"Oh, you mean bear cub? No, bear cub and BS are great!"

"BS?" I could nearly hear him frowning.

"Yeah… It stands for… Ba… Bedazzled… softie." Emmett promptly burst into laughter.

"Bedazzled softie? Leah, are you and-"

"Can I please talk to my mother?"

There was a moment's hesitation. Then there was fumbling and quiet voices on the other end. Finally, Sue's voice appeared, "Hey, baby. How's the trip?"

"Great…" I was allowed to sound less enthusiastic with my own mother.

"What's this I hear from Charlie that you're so smitten with Jasper that you've given him a pet name?"

I groaned leave it to my mother to take things way out of proportion. "We're in Montana right now. It's really great. Seth'll like to talk to you now. Bye Mom!" I could hear her protesting on the other line so I quickly threw the phone in the back seat.

"_Bedazzled softie_?" Jasper quietly said in bewilderment.

I haughtily crossed my legs together, "BS is _very _ambiguous."

He turned to smile at me, very nearly bedazzling me… Hmm. The name kinda fits. We were in silence for a few minutes to let Seth talk to Sue. "Alright Mom. I love you… Yes, I'll make sure Leah doesn't get in trouble… Yup. Ok, bye." He sighed as he handed the phone over, giving me an exasperated look, "Leah, why did you tell Charlie that you and Jasper are, as Mom puts it, 'secret lovers'?"

I almost gagged on my own saliva, "Ew! That's so gross, Seth! Besides, he's like married! Don't call me a home wrecker!"

Instead of making some rude comment back, the entire car fell silent. I frowned at the blond vampire at my side but he was completely focused on the street ahead of him, his mouth tight. Hell, even Emmett was looking down at his shoes. There was definitely something going on. And I hated how I was the only one who was completely oblivious to everything that was going on. All I knew was that it was related to Jasper and Alice. I wanted to ask, but it was suddenly so cold in the car that I didn't dare. An angry Jasper was the worst kind. Grumbling to myself, I flicked on the radio and found that chick station I was listening to the day before. I think it was Miley Cyrus that came on, but I didn't care. Anything to break this thick tension.

I looked out my window to find farmland disappearing before our very eyes. I was slightly apprehension. Any second now we were to catch a waft of cow manure. It was stinky enough in here with the vamps, I didn't want cow shit on top of that. The Hannah Montana song finished, thank god, and a girly song from the chick with the blonde, curly hair and the cowboy boots whose name escaped my memory. I couldn't help but listen to the lyrics in the dead silence of the car.

_"Cuz one second it was perfect and now you're halfway out the door. And I stare at the phone. He still hasn't called. And you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all. And you flashback to when he said, forever and always…"_

I frowned. It was a crazy day when Leah Clearwater could relate to a Disney country cowgirl. _"Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest made you run and hide like a scared little boy. I looked into your eyes. Thought I knew you for a minute, now I'm not too sure…"_

My heart tightened sharply and I suddenly couldn't breathe. This was _so_ messed up! I leaned against the window and blinked furiously to keep the tears from flowing. My hand clenched tightly in my seat. I just couldn't help the emotions. _Sam _had said those exact same things…

_***_

_"What do you think about Penn State?" I lazily asked, flipping through the brochure. _

_"Nah," Sam said, playing with a strand of my hair. "I wanna stay on the west coast."_

_I flipped over on my bed to face him with a frown, "Why? I thought you loved the east coast!"_

_He gave me a look, "It's nicer there, but obviously I'm staying here."_

_I was confused, "Why?"_

_He chuckled into my hair, sending a nice tingling sensation down my back. "It's your dream to live in LA, remember? It wouldn't make sense for Mommy and Daddy to have lived in different cities, now would it?"_

_I bolted upright, "Really?" I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice but failed._

_He grinned, "Of course. A beach house with a white picket fence, two boys and a little girl, orange peonies in the front yard, and a mutated pet dog. How can I forget?"_

_My heart seemed to explode with happiness. "I love you, Sam Uley, do you know that? So much."_

_"I love you too, Leah Clearwater. Forever and Always..." And then we went back to looking at college brochures, completely oblivious to the fact that our lives were going to change forever._

It was the first time he promised me eternity. And the last. That very evening, fate destroyed my future in the woods behind my house with an ill-placed legend coming true...

***

_Forever and Always…_ Bullshit! It just made me so… upset. Men shouldn't be allowed to say those things unless they mean it. _Forever and Always… Forever and Always…_

Suddenly, the music in the car stopped, but the atmosphere in the room wasn't so tense anymore. I turned to find Jasper looking worriedly at me. Ah. So he understood. I just hope my brother and Emmett didn't get what was up with us. I felt his usual calm tranquility spread through my veins, but it wasn't enough. _Forever and Always… Forever and Always… _The biggest piece of crap I've ever heard. Was forever and always really just a few years until the guy met someone better and dumped you on your sorry ass?! Who thought of this much shit? Why would anyone intentionally fuck some innocent girl up so much with these damn lies? Suddenly, I found that I was nearly hyperventilating, my entire body shaking, despite the artificial calm through me.

"Leah," Jasper gently said, his eyes hard with concern. I barely heard him. I felt claustrophobic all of a sudden. I had to get out of here. It was too stuffy. I needed to be free. I needed-

He suddenly brushed my hand with his own. Complete serenity spread across me and I felt the tears dry instantly. Jasper covered my hand with his and I felt brief coldness before my skin began to burn. Last thing I felt was rapid fire shooting down my spine before I lapsed into unconsciousness…

* * *

Duh duh duh duuuuh! A bit of plot. It makes me happy. Anyways, I know the whole Forever and Always part sounds cheesy, but I have a friend who actually burst into hysterics after that song, so I kinda dedicated that to her.

My inspiration for the second half of this chapter was the song Breakin' by the All American Rejects. It is the most amazing song ever, so you should all give it a listen to. And the song Thinking of You by Katy Perry... And Take me on the Floor by the Veronicas. And I Wanna, also by aar... Just because it's catchy. And Take it Home by White Tie Affair. No, I'm not just randomly listing songs! These songs were what I was listening to writing this chapter. Oh, and Let it Be by the Beatles, but everyone's heard that song, right?

This is random, but we're having an ecosystem project in Ap enviro, and all my worms drowned themselves in the aqua chamber... O.o and my two male fish turned out to be gay because they somehow reproduced... O.o It's a medical miracle!!!

I know this AN is really long, but I just had 2 ice cream bars, a cup of coffee and tea! I'M SO HYPER!!! Yup... I'm gonna go angst over the book I'm reading_, The Time Traveler's Wife_, now.

Reviews= love

P.S. My dog whimpers and seems to have seizures in her sleep... . Is that normal?

P.P.S I have a cactus.

P.P.P.S . Why are razors for chicks always pink??? I think that's sexist! We strong females should band together against the discrimation of females through the production of pink razors!!!

P.P.P.P.S. In case you haven't noticed, I'm really, really, _really_ hyper.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Hi.


	7. Seven: South Dakota

School sucks... Like really really sucks. Like I feel like I'm drowning under all this hw we have everyday. And it's sooo boring, too. I live in the suburbs, so it's like no drama at all and if there is drama, it's like bad drama... :( And cute math guy and I are like friends now, but he's supposedly a total womanizing jerk or something, so big no no. And my spanish partner can't seem to bring her book when it's her turn so I keep getting in trouble, so I have to bring my book every day and I'm pissed. And trig's so damn hard that I want to shoot myself... And I woke up at four this morning to do my hw, but it actually only took me until four thirty, so I sat there for two hours, just staring off into space... The highlight of my day... Life's just boring.

Yup, there's my short little rant. I really need to just graduate already. Anyways, thanks for all the lovely reviews, everyone! ;) I swear, those are the only things keeping me sane. The last chapter was kind of like a cliff hanger, but don't worry- super long one this time! ;) Enjoy!

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I came around was Seth's angry voice. That confused me. Seth was _never _angry. What was going on? I blinked my heavy eyelids open to find bright sunlight attempting to burn my eyes out. I hissed in annoyance and shielded my face with a hand.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Seth was yelling.

Groaning, I slapped Seth's hand away. He blinked and helped me out of the car, "Leah, you're awake?! How are you feeling? Does your head hurt?"

I rolled my eyes. We were at some kind of rest stop in the middle of nowhere. Jasper and Emmett stood under the shade of a small building that looked like the bathrooms to escape the sun. I made my way over to them, rubbing my arm, "What happened?" I wondered.

Jasper's eyes darkened, "I'm really not sure…"

"Leah, are you in any kind of pain? One second, you're perfectly fine, then the _leech _here," My eyes widened. I've never heard Seth refer to the Cullens in such a derogatory manner, "touches you and you faint."

Well that was strange. "Chill, Seth," I easily said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Wait, when did my little brother grow taller than me?! Damn it. "I don't think Jasper did that on purpose…" I frowned. What _did_ happen? I looked over Jasper, "Do you think it's because of how you feel my emotions stronger than most?"

He looked just as confused as I did, "I really don't know. All I know was that I was attempting to calm you down, then I touched your hand and you fainted."

I winced at the F-word. It made me sound weak. "Look, I didn't _faint_. I simply lost consciousness."

"That's the same thing as fainting," Emmett, oh-so-helpfully, pointed out.

I glared at him, then turned to his brother, "Yeah, but then… it felt stronger than anything your powers have ever before. Do you think, through physical contact, your powers magnify?"

He shook his head, "If so, nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Perhaps it's a shapeshifter thing… Seth, if I may?"

Seth looked at him suspiciously, but after he realized that his suspicions were wrong, I suppose he felt bad about attacking Jasper like that. "Sure." His eyes immediately drooped as Jasper's power surged through him. Then, BS touched Seth's arm, but nothing happened. Everyone blinked in confusion.

"Ok…" Emmett slowly said, "I guess it's all established then; either Leah's a freak or Seth. I'm betting on Leah, though."

I sighed, "For once, I agree with Emmett; I'm a freak. Now let's go." I turned to give Jasper my best puppy dog eyes, "Can I drive?"

He took one look at me and tossed me the keys. He probably felt sorry for me and my freakishness that he was doing this out of sympathy. Whatever. I'd exploit his sympathy. Behind me, Seth swallowed loudly. My road rage made Emmett look like he was inching along on a toy Barbie car.

***

"Whoo hoo!" I cheered, zipping past the cars in front of us.

Jasper was very perturbed next to me, "I think you're officially at double the speed limit."

I just laughed, "Who cares? This is Wisconisn! I don't think they give a damn here; all farm land and cattle!" The top was down and I liked how my hair blew in Emmett's face.

"Actually, it's Montana. You know? The last name to tween star Hannah?" Seth was being a nerd again, "And anyways, we're gonna get a ticket if you don't slow down."

"Ticket, smicket," I said, honking loudly at the elderly couple in the van ahead on us before passing them. Three minutes later, we were pulled over by the highway patrol. To our immense good luck, it was a young female and within minutes, she was smitten by Jasper's southern charm and Emmett's oversized biceps, each wider than my entire waist. Seth gave me a smug look the entire time as we talked our way out of a ticket, but he didn't dare say anything.

We were coast along when- "Ooh, look, it's the Spring Meadow Lake State Park! Let's stop for a swim!" Before any of the boys could say anything, I swerved sharply to the right, nearly running us off the narrow highway. By the time we were safely driving out the exit, I swear Seth looked a little green…

***

Alice had packed another swimsuit; a light yellow one with flowers and ruffles. I didn't mind so much; it was skimpy enough that the ruffles were sexy, not girly. Seth was still testing the temperature of the water when I sprinted past him, "Cannonball!" I shrieked before jumping off a large rock and soaking him. I bobbed up a few seconds later. I've learned, from years of experience, that cold water is much easier to deal with if you get it all over with at once. Besides, the near frozen November water wasn't as cold to me as it would have been a year or so ago. Ever since turning wolf, nothing seemed to really make me cold anymore. Of course, anyone watching us would think we were crazy; the small lake was completely deserted except for the four of us. I was the first one in the water and was starting to float on my back until Emmett decided to join me. His jump was so tremendous that he nearly sent me crashing into the rocks behind me. I couldn't help but laugh and move my wet, plastered hair out of my eyes.

But Emmett didn't reappear. I was getting worried, forgetting the fact that vampires didn't need oxygen, when I felt a pressure on my ankle and I was abruptly underwater again. I resurfaced a few seconds later, spluttering water and _pissed_. I grabbed his arm and tried to drag him under, but he didn't even budge. I pouted, "This isn't fun if I'm the only one who can drown!" I heard a light splash and looked up as Jasper was suddenly in the water as well. Only he could calm the water down enough to not even ripple when he went in. He easily pushed his brother into the water. I snickered. Team LC and BS against bear cub. This was gonna be great.

But Seth was still onshore, grimacing as he dangled the very tips of his toes in the water. A little smirk appeared on my face as I went underwater. A second later, Seth felt pressure on his foot. Another one passed and he was sputtering water from his mouth. I laughed as my brother shook water from his hair like a dog.

"Leah!" He moaned, "Now I'm wet!"

"Relax; if you're a good puppy, I'll let you use my hairdryer!"

He was offended and sulky. I was giddy. I turned around to find Emmett and Jasper engaged in an epic water war. The sky was overcast, but a cloud parted slightly where Jasper was standing to let a beam of light shine right where he was standing, coating his pale torso with sparkles and making his hair shine pure gold. My jaw dropped as I saw every well-defined muscle on his lean body stand out with sparkles that made him some unreal, golden Adonis.

Emmett noticed this and snickered. My teeth instantly clacked back together. I eyed my foe with hatred. "Leah, don't tell me you were checking-" Before he could get another word out, I growled and tackled him, forcing him under with brute strength alone.

Within a second, Emmett popped back up with me, unfortunately, still on his back. He easily took my struggling body and held me over the water. "No!" I gasped, trying to fight the urge to giggle, "Emmett, don't-"

But it was too late. With one swift movement, he chucked me across the lake like I was some kind of a skipping stone and I hit the water hard, a good twenty yards away. Luckily, I didn't drown. But I didn't know rather to get pissed or start laughing. I swam back to where they were and promptly started shivering.

Emmett right out ogled, "_Damn!_ Jasper, look at her, man!" He said, excitedly pointing a finger at me.

I blinked, "What?" I questioned, self-consciously covering my bare stomach with an arm. It was flat, even though I had two Big Macs for lunch, but I couldn't see what else could be of such importance to Emmett.

"Her tits are hard!"

My face flushing red, I picked up a pebble from shore and threw it hard at his head. It hit its target with a sickening crunch, but Emmett barely noticed. "The water's _cold_!" I complained, "I can't help it!"

"Hey, youknow how you let that kid touch your boob for twenty bucks?"

"No." I automatically said.

"_Come on!"_

"Your fingers are like blocks of ice!"

"_Please_?"

"Hey, Emmett, would lil' Emmie melt if I burned him?" I tried to keep my voice light, but anyone could hear the threat in it.

To my surprise, he grinned lecherously at me, "Wanna try with that high temperature of yours, dog?"

I very nearly barfed. Seth was just as sickened, "Emmett! My _sister_! Gross!"

He shrugged, "If Rosalie was here, you'd say the same things to her."

I laughed, "If Seth and a girl met, they'd take one look at each other and run screaming in opposite directions."

I was the only one who found it humorous. Seth turned dark red at the truth of it, Jasper raised a golden, sparkling eyebrow at me, and Emmett looked annoyed, "You've never been with a chick?" He asked in disbelief.

Seth looked ready to kill me. Instead, he slowly shook his head, "I'm waiting for my imprint."

"Give him a break," I said, "I think it's cute that he's so innocent and not a man-whore like you."

"That's it," Seth hissed at me, "I'm not saving you next time Emmett decides to remark on your chest."

"Don't be sad about it. All the Cullens are the same; Edward was a virgin for a century," I couldn't help but snicker, "And I bet these two were abstinent too, right?"

Emmett coughed discreetly, "Actually, I had four before Rosalie…"

I stared blankly at him. There _must_ be something wrong with me if I'd had more lovers than the perverted leech… Damn Sam and how lonely he made me the first few months after he left… I turned to glare at Jasper.

The blond Adonis looked rather uncomfortable. "Seventeen…" He finally muttered.

My jaw dropped. So _he _was the slut of the family, "_What_?!"

Jasper shrugged, not meeting anyone's eyes and looking rather embarrassed, "You know military men… And besides, it was nearly a century before I met Alice."

Well… I guess that made sense. Emmett nodded, "I met Rosalie right after I turned and I've been faithful to her since, so it makes sense that I've only had four."

Seth fidgeted, "I'd rather pull an Edward."

I smiled approvingly at him. "Nonsense," Emmett said, slinging an arm around his shoulder, "We'll find you a girl to practice on."

I growled at him, "No, we won't. I prefer celibacy. Abstinence is a good thing. I'm proud of you, bro."

Emmett raised an eyebrow at me, "Don't tell me you believe in that crap. You have _so _gotten laid before."

I tried to remain my dignity, "Well, you know about me and Sam…" Was it just me or did the lake get colder once his name was mentioned?

"Only him?" It was Jasper who spoke this time, "You didn't feel the need to be with other men afterwards?"

My face heated up. Damn it. He knew me too well. Emmett grinned at my blushing face, "How many, wolf-girl?"

"That's none of your business." I tried to be as uptight and formal as possible. I crawled out of the lake, "I think we've had enough swimming for one day," I sniffed, finding my oversized purple and orange towel.

"More than me?"

"Maybe."

"More than Jasper?"

"Maybe."

I could see Emmett frown from his overwhelming curiosity. Ha. Let him guess.

***

We barely managed to get out of the milk maid state and were now just barely into South Dakota. It was really dark by the time we settled for the night, but I was determined to get out of manure country by tomorrow. Seth and I were currently sprawled all over the bed of my room, eating Whoppers and flipping through the channels. We had managed to find this inn in the middle of nowhere and Jasper and Emmett were out hunting wolves or rattlesnakes or whatever crap they could find in this wasteland.

Seth snorted at the TV, "Why would she give _him_ a rose?! It's obvious that John's better for her!"

Yep. We were watching the Bachelorette. It was tradition for the two of us; we'd watch girly shows together, but once Mom or someone, in this case Emmett or Jasper, would walk in, we'd immediately flip the channel to monster trucks or dirt biking or something equally mindless and dangerous. Seth couldn't get caught watching the Bachelorette for the sake of his manliness, as little of that as he had, and I couldn't because… well, I have a masochistic, anti-romance reputation to live up to, don't I?

"Austin's way cuter than John," I idly said, munching on a French fry.

"Yeah, but he's a _skateboarder_! What kind of life can she hope to have with a skateboarder?!"

I shrugged, "He's muy caliente. I'd tap that."

Seth looked really disturbed and seemed to reconsider eating his burger before shrugging and popping it into his mouth. "I'm your _brother_. Wait for Emmett to come back before you start comparing lays," shuddering slightly with disgust, he chugged half his soda down with a single breath.

"We need to phase soon," I wryly said, "or all this junk we're eating will actually turn into fat. And goodness knows you need it, but still…"

Seth looked at me, "Do you want to go now?"

I shook my head, "Not now. I don't want to worry Tweedledum and Tweedledummer."

We fell silent for a few minutes to enjoy the show. One guy was bragging about the fact that he already had a girlfriend back home. I smiled and moved closer to my brother. I liked times like these when things were calm and there wasn't any drama going on. It reminded me of simpler times when men weren't cheating pigs and the Quileute folklores were fiction. Sighing, I stole one of his French fries in contentment. But something nagged me in the back of my head, ruining this rare moment of peace between us. I bit my lip, then decided to go for it and sat up.

"Seth?"

"Mmm?"

I fidgeted nervously with a loose thread on the spread, "Not that I care or anything," I nonchalantly said, "But what's up with BS and his fairy princess?"

"BS?" He muted the television, "You mean Jasper, right?"

"That's what I said."

His expression darkened for a second, "He and Alice… Well, let's just say there's a speed bump in their relationship."

I frowned, "A speed bump? How big is the bump? Can vampires even have relationship problems? What's going on?"

Seth simply shook his head, looking distressed, "Sorry, Leah, but I can't really tell you much. If you want to know so bad, just ask Jasper."

I sighed and leaned back against the headboards. I guess I'll never know because there's no way I'm asking a leech about his love life…

***

"Hey, does anyone want to see Mount Rushmore?"

"No," Seth and I said at the same time. I turned to my brother in surprise.

He shrugged, "What? It's a mountain with carved faces of former presidents' faces. Not worth taking a detour down for a couple hundred miles for something you can see from a textbook."

I loving patted his shoulder. "That's my boy!"

Emmett snorted, "Fine. Then we're just gonna drive for ten hours straight with no distractions?"

"Yup… No wait- turn off the highway, _now_!"

Startled, Emmett did exactly as I said, swerving sharply to the right to make the exit. He turned around to frown at me once we were at a stoplight, "Leah, what the hell?"

I grinned impishly and pointed forward, "Look; horseback riding!"

***

I had forgotten about Seth's deathly fear of horses… He couldn't even get a yard within the stables before chickening out and leaving to pet the goats, which were, in his opinion, "a nicer, friendlier, _vegetarian_ species of the horse." I tried to convince him that Emmett and Jasper were a million times deadlier than a horse, but he wouldn't listen. According to him, Christopher Reeve died from a horse, yet no celebrity in history has died from vampires… (At least from what we can tell) So it was going to me be and two vampires… Until I remembered that animals disliked the vampires as much as we did so Emmett was out. Jasper was right; no one, not even a horse, was able to resist his charm. I mentally patted myself on the back.

I don't know what's worse; riding down a lane with three annoying boys or riding down an exquisitely scenic lane with a gorgeous, golden man with a morbid curiosity of me in a manner that looked romantic to all bystanders… I'd choose the first one. At least I could escape the three of them, but there was no escaping Jasper alone. It was slightly sunny today, so both vampires in our acquaintanceship were wearing jackets with hoods wide enough to shadow their faces, but Jasper decided to take his off and instead of walking underneath the shade of the trees, he walked in the direct sunlight. Even though it was only his head that showered with golden sparkles, it drove me crazy. He wasn't allowed to look that good when I was feeling so cynical towards him. It just totally threw off my groove.

"Stay in the shade," I grumbled, "Someone might see you."

He turned to shoot me a heart-stopping smile, "No. I rather enjoy how this is affecting your heart rate."

My jaw dropped. Truth be told, my heart rate was a little quick. Sniffing loudly and trying not to blush, I tapped my horse into a trot to pass him. Laughing softly behind me, he only had to whistle at his horse and it immediately caught up with mine. I raised an eyebrow at him, "Ah. I forgot. You're the cowboy one, aren't you?"

I almost had to squint to look at him through his bedazzling smile… Yuck. I actually used that word. "Something like that," he admitted.

"I never imagined Barbie girl as the southern, milk maid type."

He frowned at me, "Are you talking about Rosalie?"

"Yup. My only competitor for the bitch crown… I think I'm bitchier, but she's had like a century longer to terrorize innocent people… It's a draw."

Jasper looked amused, "You do know Rosalie and I aren't actually twins, right?"

I blinked, "Well, I was wondering why you two looked nothing alike, besides the blond vampire-ness…"

"The more complicated our story is, the less likely anyone would want to get into specific details," He easily explained.

"But you have the same last name," I suddenly realized. Exactly two seconds later, I felt like a retard as I realized that that was to complete the disguise; it wouldn't make sense for twins to have different last names, now would it? I shook my head, "Hale. Yours or hers?"

"Hers, of course. Does Rosalie really look the type to take someone else's last name?"

I clicked my tongue, "Poor Emmett. No wonder he wanted to go on this trip with us; he's such an ass wipe back home."

"Whitlock."

"What?"

"That's my actual surname."

"Hmm… I have to say, I was expecting more of a… Wilkes, Radley, or Parton."

Jasper smiled, "_Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird_ and…" His eyebrow knitted together, "I can't think of the last one, though."

"Hello? Dolly Parton?" I rolled my eyes good-naturedly.

He scoffed, "Stereotypical southern hick," he muttered under his breath.

I smirked, "You're just upset that she makes blondes look bad."

"She is the epitome of the term 'dumb blonde'."

"Hey, I love that song!"

"You actually listen to her music?"

"What loser hasn't heard that song?"

"Are you seriously calling people 'losers' who don't listen to _Dolly Parton_?"

I thought for a second. The way he worded it made it seem so negative. Only one way to fix this, "Race you!" I exclaimed, already breaking my horse into a gallop…

***

Even though I had a clear twenty yards' head start, he still beat me… easily… Like his horse was already unsaddled and he was waiting with Seth and Emmett by the time I showed… I'd like to blame his vampire speed, but the thing is, we were both on horses and there's not much I can complain about… Damn.

Seth had only very recently gotten his license, so we were all wary of letting him drive, but he begged and pleaded, with puppy-dog eyes I couldn't resist, until Emmett gave up and handed him the keys. Now, I sat, clutching my seat as tightly as I could while praying to whatever deity out there for our safety. It's not like Seth has road rage like me or Emmett, but he's rather… careless. As in he gets the gas pedal and the brake mixed up all the time… and he over steers… and he lets anyone female or over the age of twenty-five cut him off… Of course, none of us would die, or even be seriously injured, no matter how bad Seth messed up, but it was still frightening… A car full of vampires or a teenage boy at the wheel… I don't know what's worse… And my butt hurts from all that hardcore horseback riding… Great.

* * *

I'm like the clumsiest person alive. I have a huge bloody gash on my foot, my thumb nail's bleeding from my unintentional stabbing of it, I have a cut on my shin from scraping it, I bruised my hip, I have a bug bite on my stomach from swimming over the weekend, I have a bleeding scab on my arm, and my ear's gross... All from tripping, bugs, and clumsiness... I carry around neon rainbow bandaids where ever I go. Yup. I felt like you guys, as my readers, needed to know of my clumsiness before you judge the quality of this writing. I know it has no substance, but I promise, the next two chapters are going to be hard core substance! ;)

Oh, and P.S. I spend a loooot of time googling maps of the US and creating pictures of where they traveled exactly and how much time it took to be as accurate as possible, so you all better love me for this! :)

Reviews = Love


	8. Eight: Milwaukee

Heyyyy!!! Sorry for the super late update. School's about to kill me. I'm only posting today because I came down with the flu or something and had to go home early... :( And this is a short chapter, but at least it's something, right?

Update on cute math boy: He's getting way too touchy feely. Like hand holding and playing with my hair. What do you think? Ditch or keep???

And here's chap 8!!!

* * *

_Two days later…_

We were finally in a decent sized city. One with more people than cows. Thank god. Milwaukee had about half a million people and was located right next to Lake Michigan. The calm water was beautiful from my nice view in our hotel room. Seth and I had been watching Project Runway when he fell asleep. The two leeches were out hunting, though where in this dense city, I had no clue. Earlier today, we spent hours at Milwaukee's annual Trainfest, which I thought was a snooze, but Seth seemed to really like "America's largest operating model railroad show" for some reason, even though, I swear, it was all six-year-old boys there running around in their Batman underwear… Seth and Emmett fit right in.

Of course, after all that excitement that was the Trainfest, he was out like a light before we even finished the episode of Project Runway. I hate to admit this, but currently, I felt so alone. Today was officially what would have been my seven year anniversary with Sam. Seven years I have loved Sam, a whole damn third of my life. The first month into high school, I met him. Something just clicked. He was handsome and athletic and, believe it or not, I was one of the most popular freshmen there. It made sense for me to date someone like him, but there was something special about our relationship… He was caring and sensitive, making me feel like the most important girl alive. I'd never been happier with Sam. I was pretty, popular, and spent my time worrying about normal girly things; clothes, make-up and the daily dish on my friends. Hell, I was even doing well enough in school that I was supposed to go to college in sunny California! But then the stupid wolfy thing popped up and my perfect life shattered.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. Even though Sam has the same wolfy problem as me, he has Emily and therefore the perfect life. I don't have anything. I thought our lives were perfect together. Could it be true that it was only perfect in my eyes? Did Sam secretly despise it? Did those amazing five years we spent together mean anything to him?

Ugh. I cannot be thinking of this again. It always ended with the same results; self-loathing, bitterness, and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. But it would be impossible _not _to think of it on our anniversary… I had to get out of here. Milwaukee was beer country, after all. It shouldn't be hard to find some horny men to buy me drinks. After all, I look way beyond twenty. I carefully made my way out of the bed as to not disturb the sleeping Seth and covered him with a blanket. I snuck the bag Alice packed for me, and sure enough, there was a sequined black dress that hit above my knee. I tugged that on in the bathroom, slid dark make-up on my eyelids and black mascara to make my look sultry. I could easily pass for twenty-three once I was done.

I left my hair alone as it would take all night to make it curl the way I wanted, so I just shook it loose and let it do what it wanted. My nails were already black, from my bored musings the day before, and I found a pair of silver stilettos in Alice's bag. God. That chick must really want me to get laid.

Finally finished, I slipped my hotel key, Jasper's credit card and my cell phone in a black clutch and quietly exited the room…

***

The club was dark and loud, crawling with people left and right… It was just the way I liked it. The bartender was a loser and wanted to check my id, but no worries, right when I was walking away, about three guys approached me with beers. Yum. Milwaukee brewed beers. They were the best, everyone knew. Why else would I want to go to this city?

I swayed to the loud techno music, a random stranger's arms around my waist, but I didn't really care. He bought me a drink, so I'd let him dance with me all he wanted. Not normally how a bitchy Leah Clearwater rolled, but it was how a lonely, dejected one did.

Three beers and six shots later, I should have been drunk, but instead, because of my super cool wolf healing, I was merely buzzed. Two guys have already offered to take me home, but it was barely midnight; too early for that stuff. I still wanted to stay at the club and dance. Maybe in a few hours I'll go home with some guy.

The guy I've been dancing with suddenly put his mouth on mine, suffocating me with his repulsive whisky breath. I winced and pulled away, "Not interested, dude," I said, sharply turning to walk off the dance floor, wiping my poor, abused lips on the back of my hand. I felt hands on my arm, dragging me back.

"I'm not done with you, missy," he hissed in my ear. My gag reflex kicked in, but I managed to keep it down. He was about thirty, had a beer belly, only came up to my chest, and needed some serious waxing done all over his body. Not my type. Especially when I'm used to the company of some of the most attractive men in this country around me 24/7… And no, I'm not referring to Seth.

I tried to move my hand away, but he held firm, which surprised me. I didn't know if I was above hurting humans with my wolf-strength, as creepy as some of them were, but before I could decide, he ran his hands up and down my legs, "That's a silly little dress… Very attention-grabbing."

"Unfortunately, I grabbed the wrong attention," I brutally shot back. My face was emotionless, but if he were to look closely into my eyes, which I doubted he could as he was totally wasted, he could see the fear creep in. I had never been in this situation before. Usually, I'd go to a club, find a nice guy my age and we'd go to his place, and be done within the hour. Easy. I hated to admit it, but I was a little intimated. I was used to terrorizing super strong, mythical creatures. Humans were a little more delicate and I didn't want to hurt one.

He drunkenly reached over to grab a fistful of my hair and attempted to kiss me again. How he reached, I'll never know. I looked around to find no one even remotely interested in our situation. What the hell? I could be getting raped or something! Was Milwaukee this bad? I struggled against him, but he was surprisingly strong. Maybe I should fight him after all…

"Please remove yourself from my girlfriend," A familiar, drawling voice demanded. It was polite enough, but I could make out the hostile, icy undertone. _Oh shit…_ I had a pretty good idea who it was.

Beer belly guy promptly stopped kissing me to leer at my rescuer, "Can't hold on to yer woman, eh, bud?"

Jasper ignored him and gripped my free arm. The coldness of his skin contrasted with the burning sensation within me as result of the alcohol I had consumed. "I don't want to cause any trouble," he gently said, "We're just gonna go."

"Wait-" Drunk middle-aged guy looked at me, "Is he with you, sweetheart?"

From the second Jasper touched me, I felt inexplicable anger, though I had no clue to whom it was directed. My anger felt weird, like it didn't touch my heart and consume me until I turned your average Leah bitch. I felt it, but I didn't seem to _feel_ it. Strange… Ignoring the odd anger in me, I smiled and put an affectionate hand on Jasper's shoulder and let him reel me in to the crook of his arm, "Yup. My boyfriend here," I awkwardly patted his hard chest. Discretely, my hand tightened on his hand. Somehow, I knew he was angry. It was difficult enough for him in this tight club full of human bodies. I didn't want him to slip. I think he knew what I was thinking, or at least he must have felt my apprehension, because his stiff posture loosened a bit.

"Might wannna learn how t' hold onto yer women," He sniffed, clearly intimidated by Jasper's appeal. He was already walking the other way, but unbeknownst to him, both of us could clearly hear his mumbling. "That whore's gonna cause yer trouble." I realized that only _now_, with the prospect of a fight, were people actually paying attention to us… A little late here.

Jasper's hand tightened on mine as he heard Beer belly's last words, but I quickly linked my arm through his, "Jasper," I urgently said, not liking the way his eyes darkened after my attacker. The rage I felt multiplied, though I wasn't actually feeling it.

He was still for a couple seconds, and I dismally noted how most of the girls surrounding us were now staring at him, and flashing their best, but worst, in my opinion, seductive looks his way. Disgusted, I put my hand on his marble chest, my skin immediately cooling through the contact with his cold skin through his plain black shirt, in an almost possessive manner. The heat of my hand seemed to snap him back into it. Realizing that we were still putting on a show, he quickly encircled an arm around my waist, "Let's get out of here, darlin'." Maybe he was doing it on purpose, but his southern twang was especially sharp. I nodded and let him lead me outside. I was only smirking a little when the jealous girls stared after us in outrage… In fact, one actually came onto him before we left, (she was more than a little tipsy) but Jasper just smiled his tight lipped smile and dragged me out. He didn't drop the act until we were safely breaking speed limits in the car.

"How'd you find me?" I finally asked, slightly uneasy as he was quite scary right now. No wonder the pack had always considered him the biggest threat.

Without looking at me, he sped even faster. I winced and tried not to clutch onto my seat in fear. I would show no weakness. "Seth called and told us you were missing an hour ago," his voice was icy as he made a sharp left turn. I was thankful for my seatbelt. "So we thought, where do you find a twenty-year-old girl? Of course, the biggest club in Milwaukee. Emmett's at the strip joint across town. He thought racier."

I grimaced, "Why'd you even bother? A full grown woman goes out for drinks. What's the biggie? It's not like I decided to go out and be a prostitute or something."

He still hadn't looked at me once since we left the club, "Full grown, mature women don't leave without notice in the middle of the night to a club to get drunk while they are clearly underage. Besides, if I hadn't come in at that moment, who knows what that man would have done to you?"

I huffed loudly and crossed my arms over my chest, "I'm a werewolf. I could have handled myself."

"He was trying to _rape _you, Leah."

"I _know_. I was gonna handle it, too, until you popped up."

"Fine. What if I didn't show? What if someone slipped something in your drink? What if you continued drinking? What if that man wasn't a rapist, but a _murderer_?" His voice was calm and completely under control, but I didn't have to share his powers to know that he was seething underneath. Jesus. I liked it better when werewolves and vampires hated each other. This sentimental crap was getting on my nerves. Or maybe I just hated it when someone besides me was right…

"I was handling it," I huffed again.

He didn't say another word during the entire car ride. Course, the ride wasn't that long the speed we were going. Only a few minutes later, he turned into the hotel parking lot and I dragged my unwilling, drunk ass out, sulking behind him. I wanted to yell at him or something, but everything he said was right, unfortunately.

Seth jumped to his feet the second we got back, "Where the hell were you, Leah?!"

I sighed and plopped down in the arm chair, "Well, since Jasper, who was supposed to scout out the club returned with me, I _wonder _where I was…"

Seth was beyond furious, "You don't just _leave_ in the middle of the night without even leaving a note, dressed like a hooker to-"

I nearly laughed at the hooker part. The rest I drowned out. I looked towards Jasper. He was quietly talking on the phone, "Emmett, she was at the club… Yeah. Just come back to the hotel… Mmm. Oh, and don't bring back a stripper… Yes, she's okay. It was a pretty senseless thing she did but she's still alive."

I groaned, annoyed at how serious everyone was and stomped in my own room. Before either of them could say anything, I slammed the door. Without taking off my make-up, or even changing into more comfortable clothing or shoes, I flopped on the bed and stared up, aimlessly at the ceiling. I think I liked it better when no one cared about me…

* * *

I really don't know or can't remember the exact time and duration of Leah and Sam's romance, so I kinda made it up a little. Sorry if it's not accurate.

So that's chapter 8... Yup. I'm going to go get water now before my dry throat crumbles into ashes.

Reviews= love!!!


	9. Nine: Lake Michigan

Mid-terms are coming up, so sorry if I can't update for a while. I have to raise my grade in trig. Update on math guy: I'm totally not interested anymore. He's kind of dull. Besides, there are these two really hot blond twins hanging around. ;) TWINS! :O

Anyways, I know everyone loves the fluff, but this chapter's mainly angst. Sorry. Next chapter's better.

Enjoy! ;)

* * *

It was near three in the morning, a whole hour since I stopped hearing Seth's voice. If I knew anything about him, and I should, living in a house with him for sixteen years, I knew that he should be dead asleep by now. Unfortunately, I wasn't. I couldn't sleep. Alcohol usually made me tired once I had a large quantity of it, but I had barely enough to get my system buzzing with excitement and I don't think the guys would let me have any more. It'd be another hour or so before my advanced wolf healing got the toxin out of my blood. So I lied there on the too large bed, listening to the muted sounds of the night, waiting for the elusive darkness of sleep to slip in.

It was warm in the room, but I was cold. For five years, I'd taken sleeping with a warm pair of arms around for granted. I don't know what I'd give for that same luxury today. I closed my eyes tightly, but couldn't stop the memories. A warm, tan body, half invisible in the dark shadows, next to me, strong arms around me; one slung casually around my shoulders and the other gripping my hip. Heat radiating off that russet skin, enveloping me in warmth on the coldest of nights. Soft hands peeling off my uncomfortable shoes and rubbing the tension out of my spine. Limbs tangling with mine no matter which direction I turned. The rhythmic lullaby of soft snores. The knowledge of love expressed without words.

I needed that same comfort, that same protection, that same warmth so bad that it hurt. My cold, hollow heart felt as though it could tear out of my chest and burst into a million pieces. I was promised that warmth for eternity. Instead, someone else was asleep with that very warmth cloaking them right this instant. Someone who was blissfully unaware of the value of that warmth.

I wanted to scream, to stomp my feet and throw a fit. I wanted to cry at the heavens until they finally took pity and granted my only wish. I've done all that. I've lashed out to the world. I've only lost more. All I wanted was warmth. Now, I am to be forever writhing in the chill of my solitary body.

I can't keep thinking these thoughts. They were to drive me insane. Sleep has still evaded me and strong arms weren't present to cradle me into the gentle darkness. This room was suddenly too desolate. I got up and walked to the window, too lazy to bend down and undo my stilettos, as murder as they were on my feet. There was a fire escape, which only meant one thing…

As quietly as I could, I slipped my window open and crawled outside, trying not to trip in my giant shoes. I nimbly climbed up the ladder until I found myself on the roof, the dark lake shore a couple hundred meters away. It was a soothing sound, the water gently rippling down below. I closed my eyes and dangled my feet off the side. The day of my anniversary with Sam was officially over, and it hadn't been _too _crazy. One year down, a bazillion, or however long I planned to live, more to go. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of salty water below me. I was so relaxed and comfortable suddenly that I might just drop off to sleep. It must've been strange for anyone who happened to look up where I was; a young woman in a skimpy dress out on a roof well before dawn in early winter. It would be enough for anyone but me to catch pneumonia. I couldn't feel anything.

There was a slight shuffling sound right behind me, but when I looked up, Jasper was already sitting by me on the edge of the roof, his position mirroring mine. I was slightly apprehensive, but he didn't look angry like he did earlier. His face was blank; unexpressive. He looked as cool and in control as always. I looked away. We didn't say anything for a while, letting the sound of the whistling wind wash over us.

"It's a long fall," He finally said, idly looking down the twenty floors to the tiny cars parked below us.

I closed my eyes to enjoy the fresh lake breeze, "Only if you jump."

"This isn't a suicide mission?"

"I doubt I'd die even if I jumped."

He paused for a beat. "I'm sorry about overreacting and though Seth won't admit it, he is too."

I looked away, unsure of what to say, "Whatever…"

There was a brief silence between us as we both stared out at the great expanse of water. I would have never guessed that it was only a lake unless someone told me. Luckily, Seth did two days ago, even giving me a brief history of the lake and the kind of fish it contained. I like salmon. A breeze brought Jasper's scent to my nose, but I found that I didn't really mind it anymore. It was a bit over-sweet, but not puke-worthy like before. What happened? I guess being stuck in a car for days with vampires does that to a girl's nose.

"So, you couldn't sleep either?"

My lips twitched at his lame joke. At least he was trying. Others preferred not to get tangled in the mess that was my life and liked to sympathize from a distance. They knew if they got mixed in, their sympathy would quickly fade to anger and disgust. I was that bitchy. And I hated sympathy. Surprisingly, I didn't mind Jasper's. There was something about him that separated him from his family… In fact, it didn't just separate him from his fellow vampires, but from the rest of the world as well… I just didn't know what it was. I looked down at my black toenails visible between the straps of my stilettos.

"No," I admitted.

"Something on your mind, darlin'?" He was the only one who could call me that and not getting decapitated. Somehow, the smooth way the syllables rolled off his tongue sent some foreign pang to my hollow heart…

"Today would've been my seventh anniversary with Sam." I wanted to slap myself as soon as I let those words escape. Maybe I had drank more than I thought? This was as bad as being in cahoots with the enemy. Not even my mom or Seth knew of these problems. I instantly blushed and looked away.

"I'm sorry," he quietly said. Suddenly his accent was gone and every syllable was pronounced precisely. It was scary how he did that. The only accent I could do is a German one, and that merely consists of me choking loogies while grunting, "Haagen Dazs" over and over.

"Thanks," I said, looking away.

There was a brief, but extremely awkward silence, "You should stop this."

I blinked at him, "Stop what?"

"Stop… counting the days. Move on."

I shook my head, "Harder said than done. What if it were Alice? I know you two have been together half a century more than us, but same idea, right? Could you move on that quick?" He looked down at his lap and I could feel the atmosphere chill. I suddenly remembered what Seth told me a few days ago about tension between him and pixie girl… My voice softened, "What's going on between you and her?"

He ground his teeth together, not looking at me, but rather at the stars up ahead. They weren't as brilliant in this city as they would be in Forks on a clear night, but they seemed more beautiful above the lake. "She had a vision, eight months ago…" I blinked as I realized he was actually telling me his story and immediately perked up, "It was… She saw herself and another vampire, this Kato from Japan. He's a time traveler. Alice saw herself… she saw herself happier with Kato than she could ever be with me." My mouth fell in a little O shape and my eyes grew wide. This was bad.

"But she promised not to leave," I could suddenly breathe again, from relief, "She said she'd stay and fight," he turned to look at me and my heart broke as I saw the pain in his eyes, "But I don't know how long it'll last. Things have already become tense between us."'

My emotions took over and I gently rested my hand against his knee, "How bad is it?" I couldn't help but ask, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"We haven't slept together, figuratively speaking of course, for years. So, yes, we've been having problems before Kato popped up, but I feel as though this is the turning point… I sometimes feel as though we should just give up and stop fighting, but… We've been together for _so _long. Almost a lifetime. I can't imagine life without Alice."

I felt the need to cheer him up, somehow, anyhow, though I had no clue how. Just something to take the pain out of those golden eyes. "I don't know you or Alice very well, but…" I bit my lip, "I dunno… You two don't seem very alike. In fact, I'd go as far as saying you two are polar opposites. Alice is just so… happy and _innocent_. She likes celebrations and shopping and proms and that stuff. You… Jasper, I dunno. You're just more… reserved, I suppose. Calm all the time. You're the war veteran. You could actually kill me if you wanted too. Alice looks like she wants to break out in song and dance all the time. Forgive me for saying this, but… maybe you two weren't meant to be."

He sighed and looked down at my copper hand on top of his otherwise impeccable black pants, "You don't know how many times I've thought those very thoughts in my head. Alice- she's like a ray of sunshine. She's the first good thing that's happened to me. I wouldn't know what to do with my life without her."

I couldn't help but feel for him. He reminded me so much of… well, _me_. It was like I was looking back on myself, years in the past, watching myself try to hold on to an unloving, changed Sam. "You could try. Life goes on, whether you want it to or not. You're just making it harder on yourself." I frowned when something new occurred to me, "Why are you even here?"

Though I was being vague, he understood, "We needed time apart… To think things over; to get our minds off of our…situation." He didn't say anything for a second. Finally he turned to me, "It's strange; everyone who knows of my situation feels sympathy towards me, but you don't," he frowned at me, "I only feel your compassion."

I frowned, "Isn't that the same thing as sympathy?"

He shook his head, "Not quite."

"Oh… Well, I guess it's because I can relate to your situation… Just… don't make it harder than it already is." First, he was comforting me about Sam, but suddenly, here I was, comforting him about Alice. How strange was this?

I listened as a bat fluttered its wings a mere twenty yards from where we were sitting. I wished I could see it; it'd be beautiful to see it fly across the darkness, blending in to the night sky. "Does it get easier?" His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear him.

I hesitated. I was still pretty bummed out about Sam and it'd been years. But then I remembered how I spent the first few weeks crying and silently applauded myself for that, however small, accomplishment. I smiled at him, "Yes," I honestly said. A flicker of warmth spread through my frozen body. There was someone who understood. Someone who could relate to ever present pain of my heart. Then, before my rational mind could kick in, I leaned over, crossing the three inches between us and rested my body against his chest for a few seconds. He stiffened in surprise, but soon he encircled an arm around my waist. This position felt so inexplicably right that my brain was whirling trying to figure out why my heart was pumping. We soon broke away, because of the awkwardness, but not an ounce of compassion disappeared.

It was dawn before either of us moved again.

* * *

And the truth comes out. ;) Gold star for anyone who can guess who my inspiration for Kato was! Oh, and don't hate him, please! I hate authors who introduce OC's just to get rid of characters, so Kato's going to play a huuuugggee role in the future. Don't worry, you'll love him eventually.

Mid-terms are killer, so reviews are like a breath of fresh air in hell!


	10. Ten: Chicago

Hey. I know, I know. I procrastinated on updating for so long. But I was gone thursday and friday so I had so much work to catch up on that I just sat there and cried yesterday night. Yup. That's how much work I had. And I still have that much work, but I've decided to take a break to update. So be grateful!!!

This is basically a fluff chapter with no substance at all. With all the drama last chapter, I thought we needed some fun. And for all those people who guessed Hiro Nakamura from Heroes, whooo!!! Gold stars all around! I just adore his powers and they'd be really cool to work with in this story, so bam! Hiro spawn! But don't worry about him yet. We have a good dozen plus chapters until he shows up.

Anywhoo, enjoy! ;)

* * *

I was exhausted; Jasper could feel my exhaustion, so it was Emmett at the wheel again. I was in the back seat with Seth so I could curl up against him and attempt to sneak in a few hours of sleep. He had forgiven me first thing in the morning, even going as far as bringing breakfast to my bed, that little sucker. Not that I minded. I dozed in and out of it for hours, waking up at noon long enough to scarf down some burgers with Seth, then drifting back asleep. Of course, I had showered this morning so the awful, day after make-up was gone, but, just to prove that I _was _a girl (Emmett hadn't seen me in my cute dress yesterday) I wore a brown sheath dress, gray leggings, and black booties, all courtesy of the midget girl, instead of my regular jeans and a t-shirt combo. Raspberry lipstick stained my lips. It really did make a difference. Seth had to growl at Emmett for looking at me the wrong way this morning. Even Jasper complimented me. Nice. Of course, Seth looked embarrassed about having a "girl" for a sister, but he'll get over it.

I yawned and finally sat up, "It's five already?" I said, glancing at the clock.

"Yeah. We've been in Chicago for a while now." Seth said.

I looked out the window and a brightly colored billboard caught my eye, "Ooh! The carnival's in town! Let's go!"

Emmett groaned, "We always do what _you_ want to do! Motorcross's also in town and we decided to check that out!"

Twenty minutes later, we were parking in at the carnival. I was excited. I hadn't been at a real carnival, only the lame, two ride ones at Seattle, which so didn't count, in years. I grabbed Seth's hand and off we went. It was mostly families with little kids or young couples holding hands here. We stuck out like a sore thumb. Seth and I alone probably wouldn't have drawn too much attention and Jasper and Emmett alone would have only drawn attention from the female population, but here we were, a gang of giant, good-looking twenty-year-olds who didn't seem to like each other with one teenage boy… Nice.

A bright purple, gigantic, swerving roller coaster at the center of the carnival caught my eye. I tugged on Seth's arm, "Ooh, let's go on that, Sethy," I said, pointing at it. But his eyes were on something else. The arcade and carnival games. He looked back and forth between me and the games, giving me his best puppy dog eyes.

"Please?"

I sighed, "Then who's gonna go on that bigass roller coaster with me?" I knew for a fact that Seth had a weak stomach when it came to rides like that.

Emmett's eyes brightened as well when he heard people on the ride screaming from the top, "Let's go, girly wolf."

I hesitated, glancing back at Seth, but he seemed fine, already walking off to the arcade with Jasper. I grinned at meathead, "This might be too scary for you."

He raised an eyebrow at me, "_Me_?! I bet you ten bucks you'll scream."

"Make that twenty and caramel corn and you're good," He smirked at me, but shook my hand, nonetheless. We made way to the roller coaster. Ha. What leech boy didn't know was that I was the _master_ of roller coasters, bungee jumps, cliff diving, etc, etc. I'd be beyond surprised if I didn't fall asleep on this.

A few minutes later, we were strapped into our seats. I dangled my feet off the ground and idly reached my hand out past the hard harness around my chest. They _really _didn't want you to fall out of this one. That fact alone should excite me, but instead I looked at the harness in distaste. It would only hinder my experience with a sense of security. I preferred your old fashioned roller coasters where you're barely sitting on a rickety rackety track with barely anything to keep you from tumbling out. That's real danger there. Next to me, I swear I could see Emmett shaking. "Do you wanna hold my hand?" I cooed.

He looked at my offered limb in disgust and shook his head, "Nah. You're gonna want mine when you're screaming like a baby," he shot back, looking so confident, I hated to burst his bubble.

"Fine. We'll just see," I tried to keep the arrogance out of my voice, but it was difficult not to. The harness around us tightened and we began to slowly move. The teenage girls in front of us shrieked with excitement.

"Shouldn't you be joining your kind?" he referred to the teeny boppers.

I scoffed, "Puh-_leeze_. Is that the best you can do? Go take some roids, you overdone Vin Diesel wannabee."

He glared at me, "Let me get you a litter box for when you wet yourself."

I opened my mouth to retort back, but suddenly we were flung over the edge of the roller coaster, rocketing down in an almost freefall. My breath whooshed out of my mouth, but luckily, I didn't scream… Ok, I'll admit it; this was a much quicker pace than I was expecting.

"I hope a vulture mistakes you for a piece of meat and deflates those overrated muscles with its pecking!" I yelled as we were sent flying upside down and in loopy doops. I realized that people below could probably hear my words more clearly than Emmett could, but I didn't care. I was on a roll, "I hope your man-boobs explode from over-exertion! I hope your reflection finally gives up on trying to look like you! I hope-" But the ride was already over.

Emmett seemed a little dazed, his hair windswept, as we undid our harnesses. I grinned as I hopped off, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" I wasn't the only one who noticed the large dent in his harness…

***

I was on my second cotton candy before we finally met up with Seth and Jasper. I had tried to beg Emmett (and even to seduce him… keep that on the down low…) into going for another round on the roller coaster, but he refused and instead we went on the merry-go-rounds… I felt sorry for the unicorn he was riding on. It would never look the same.

I tugged on Emmett's arm when he looked too interested in a strength testing game, "I think I saw Seth and BS," I said, and sure enough, they were right in front of us.

"Hey, how was the roller coaster?" Seth cheerfully asked.

I scowled as I saw that he was completely loaded with stuffed animals, "You might as well have Emmett arm wrestle the Toys-R-Us CEO."

Seth scowled right back, "You didn't even see what I got you!" He pulled out a plushie from his blob of toys and handed it to me.

Emmett laughed when he saw it was the ugliest gray cartoon wolf with blue eye shadow and pouting red lips. I eyed it at an arm's length, "What? Something to remember you by?"

Seth sniffed in indignation, "Oh, come on, Leah! It's obviously _you_."

"Right… a mini-me… Er, thanks?"

"You're welcome!" He brightly chirped. God, it was annoying how bipolar Seth was sometimes.

"Was the roller coaster fun?" Jasper gently asked, leaning against a random stall we stood next to. I expected someone as cool and measured as him to stick out like Matthew McConaughey at a yard sale. Instead, he seemed to blend in perfectly, not a hint of unease on his face. Besides the constant female eye turned his way, there seemed to be nothing unusual about the pale, but seemingly nice man. Damn his charisma.

I grinned at him, "Emmett peed himself."

He glared at me, "Did _not_!"

"Fine. Do you wanna go again?"

"Um…" He suddenly looked uncomfortable, "I don't think it's fair if I go _again_ with you. It's favoritism! I'm just trying to be fair to Seth!"

I gave him a look, "Seth's weak stomach can't take roller coasters."

"Hey!" Seth exclaimed in outrage, "That's not true!"

"Do _you_ wanna go?"

"No…" He sheepishly said.

"God, you guys are lame! I don't wanna go by myself!"

"I'll go."

We all turned to stare at Jasper. I blinked, a slow smile appearing on my face, "Can you handle it, cowboy?"

Four rides later, I decided that he definitely could. Every time we whooshed down the narrow dive, my heart flew in my throat and a smile appeared on his face… Hmm. He probably just liked my adrenaline rush. I suppose vampires couldn't get those; their hearts were kind of dead.

It was actually kind of nice, though riding with anyone after Emmett was considered nice. It was like things changed after that night on the roof. I no longer grimaced when he spoke to me or thought of scratching those pretty tawny eyes out when he smiled at me. I no longer felt disgust around him… Not after last night, how could I? It wasn't quite love, but hate was far in the distance. Besides, who could possibly hate that heart-stopping Texan accent? Yuck. The word "heart-stopping." Next thing you know, I'll be writing poetry on heart shaped pads from the light of scented candles at three in the morning, all dedicated to the blond leech. And I'll have a picture of Jasper with a morph of what our baby would look like at the bottom. And I'll sign my name Mrs. Leah Hale Whitlock Cullen, whatever the hell his last name is… Maybe I'll just make worshipping Jasper a new religion. Yup. I'm that cool.

Pissed off at myself, I stormed off after the fourth ride. Emmett smirked at us from behind the bar, "Couldn't take Jazz?"

A muscle in my jaw twitched, "I think you insulted BS more than me with that retarded nickname." I violently grabbed Seth's arm and dragged him away. He was surprisingly devoid of all stuffed toys, but then again, I saw a little girl who looked like she won the lottery with plushies near the merry-go-rounds.

Seth frowned, "I think it's cute."

"Yeah? So are kittens and third graders with bubble blowers. Are you _really _comparing _Jazzy_ with that?"

Seth looked uncomfortable. "I _love_ how warm and bubbly you are," Jasper sarcastically drawled, directly behind me. Surprised at the cold breath down my neck, I jumped. Emmett snickered, so I had to glare at them both.

"Let's go."

"But we haven't seen the acrobats yet!" Seth whined.

"Or the bearded lady!" It wasn't as efficient from Emmett.

I sighed, "Fine. Ten more minutes."

"If you wanna see a bearded lady, just check out Leah before she shaves in the mornings," Seth sniggered.

I slapped the back of his head, "_Five_ minutes."

***

The five minutes turned out to be an hour. Watching men with no self respect in glittery red outfit chuck themselves out of cannons wasn't all that bad, actually. It's the overweight lady with the beard nearly reaching her knees that made my stomach churn. Especially since Emmett was staring curiously at me the entire time, as though hair was suddenly going to spring from _my _chin. I had to whack him in the back of the head for that, good riddance.

Now we were all in the swanky hotel the vamps got for us, and, for once, we were all in the same room. Emmett and Seth were glued to Monster Truck racing, or fighting, or stunt driving or whatever they do, on TV and Jasper was casually reading a book near the wide lake-side window. I, on the other hand, wasn't so peaceful.

"Where's my goddamn- Ugh! What the hell is this?" I exclaimed, pulling out a jumpsuit- a fucking _jumpsuit_ from Alice's bag.

"Looks good," Seth said without even looking my way.

"What am I? Like three?" Annoyed, I dug further. Most of the outfits, which had all been jammed in so tightly that it was nearly impossible to get them back in, were too casual. I tossed those on the bed. The seriously freaky and ugly ones, like the jumpsuit, went on the ground where I'd burn them later. I needed something nicer, like the black sequined dress I wore yesterday, but fancier than the brown dress I currently wore. I swear, Alice's bag was like Mary Poppins'. Where did it all come from? Finally, I found a white dress, but I hissed as I held it up against me, "What the hell?! Is Alice trying to marry me off?!" Three pair of male eyes turned to me.

"I guess it _kinda _looks like a wedding dress…" Seth cautiously said, not knowing whether he wanted to offend me or Alice.

Emmett snorted with laughter, "Let's pass Vegas on the way home and get you someone from the dog pound."

"Ha ha!" I sarcastically bit, chucking the extravagant dress at his head, "But it's _your _size, Emmett!"

Before Emmett could retort with something equally lame, Jasper cut in. He knew, from experience, how long our burning sessions could last, "What are you looking for, Leah?"

I frowned at him for a second before pulling out a red silk blouse, "Aha!" This would look amazing with the black skirt I found earlier. I grabbed both and headed to the bathroom, not answering Jasper's question. He'd find out soon enough. I quickly changed, fluffed out my hair so it spilled over my shoulders in waves, and replaced my raspberry gloss with cherry red lipstick. Satisfied, I walked back out to look for shoes.

Emmett whistled in response, "Damn, girly wolf, what's up with the hotness?"

I ignored him and grinned as I found red heels, "I have a date."

"_What_?!" Three voices, identical in their skepticism, echoed.

I bit my lip as I considered my heels. Then, I opted for black flats instead as I remembered my date's height. "Yeah, a date. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." Emmett honestly responded.

I glared at him, "_Rhetoric_ question, sweetie. You _don't _answer those."

"But… but," Seth spluttered, "How come we didn't notice someone asked you out all of today? We were with you like every second!"

I shrugged, slipping on the shoes, "He asked me after Emmett finished puking when I was getting my cotton candy. I guess he was too intimidated to ask me in front of all you guys."

"Damn right!" Emmett crowed.

"And you said _yes_?!" Seth was in utter disbelief.

Here we go again. Seth with his overprotectiveness was going to kill me. I shouldn't have told them. I should have just left and had them wondering. Or better, I should have told them I was working a blood drive or something. Jasper and Emmett would have definitely stayed away then. But what about Seth? Hmm… A blood drive where we all had to dress up as clowns! Seth hated those things! He couldn't even get through _The Dark Knight_.

"Yup," I shrugged, "He's cute." The phone suddenly rang. Though Jasper was closer, I reached over to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Miss Leah Clearwater?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"There's a young man in the lobby to meet you. Should I let him up?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Alright. He's coming up."

"Thank you." I hung up and straightened my blouse, "How do I look?"

Emmett whistled again while Seth just crossed his arms over his chest and fumed. "You look very nice, Leah."

I grinned at Jasper. Thank god for southern gentlemen. "Thanks," I grabbed the black purse from the bed, but winced as I banged my ankle against the table next to the bed. I groaned and plopped down on the couch next to the other two.

"I get to meet him," Seth huffed under his breath.

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, bro." I examined my ankle. It was definitely bruised. I needed ice… Or better. I eyed the vampire next to me. "Emmett, give me your hand."

"Why?" But he handed it over, nonetheless.

I grabbed his icy hand and placed it on my ankle. I hissed slightly as the coldness met my burning skin. Emmett raised his eyebrow at me, "Is this some form of foreplay?"

I scoffed, "I bruised my ankle, dim-wit."

Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door. I jumped up to answer it, but Seth was quicker. He rushed to the door and opened it, blocking the doorway from me. A nervous redhead with flowers awaited him. "Oh, _hello_ Ethan," Seth lazily said, though malice flashed in his eyes, "Do you have a last name?"

"Um, Russo?"

"Leah, he's an Italian!" He hissed, not so slyly at me.

"So?!" I hissed back, annoyed, "Let me past!"

"The _Volturi _were Italian!"

"And Jasper was pro-slavery and probably shot down our ancestors in Bacon's rebellion, but we don't judge him, do we?"

"Oy, Leah? Vhat eez taking you so long? Come back to ze bed!" Damn Emmett and his good French accent. I could see Ethan pale already.

"Are those for me?" I reached over Seth's oversized head to grab the roses, "Thanks, they're beautiful!" I had to yell a little to get the message over Seth's obesity. I dumped the flowers on the counter, but Seth was still in my way. It was only now that I realized my brother was interrogating Ethan with enough malevolence to scare terrorists.

"Where do you go to school?"

"Er, Chicago State, sir."

"How old are you?"

"Tweny-one."

"What's your middle name?"

"Er, Timothy?"

"Ethan Timothy Russo," Seth slowly said, letting the syllables roll off his tongue, "Doesn't really sound that put together does it? What, did your parents mess up in naming you?"

"It's my grandpa's name."

"Oh." Seth was silent for a second.

"Seth!" I moaned, trying to shove past him.

"Can you support Leah?" He quickly recovered, "How much do you make in a year?"

"Er, I'm just a student, sir."

"I see…" Seth's eyes narrowed, as though that was pathetic.

"Oy, Leah! I'm already naked! Vhat is ze holdup? Join moi!"

I turned furiously, but Emmett was innocently looking at the TV. I looked at Jasper for help, but he was simply laughing at me, those infuriating golden eyes twinkling at me in amusement. Pissed off, I finally managed to shove past Seth. I quickly grabbed Ethan's arm, "Sorry about that," I quickly said, a little breathlessly.

"Bring her back by seven!" Seth yelled after us.

"It's seven-thirty already!" I yelled back. Before he could say anything more, I pushed Ethan in the elevator. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Er, friends of yours?"

"The guy in the doorway was my brother, but he thinks he's my dad or something, that little prick."

"And the other two?"

I frowned. What would I consider Emmett and Jasper, "An annoying friend who thinks he's all macho and God's gift to women and…" How would I describe Jasper? How was he related to me, really? "His brother…" I lamely finished.

"Oh… Why are you all…?"

"I didn't want to, trust me," I quickly defended myself, but decided to tell him anyways, "My annoying brother tricked me into a quest for Niagara Falls with Emmett, the big one, and Jasper tagged along to make sure we didn't kill each other, and… yeah. I got sucked up in this long-ass road trip, which really sucks because none of us like each other very much… In fact, that's an understatement. I'll pummel those cocksucking, mother-" Suddenly I realized how uncomfortable Ethan was. So he was a shy, modest one! Oh, god! So much for first impressions. We walked out to the lobby together, but suddenly things were all awkward… I sighed loudly.

Here we go…

This was supposed to be two chapters, but I felt so bad for my ever-so-patient readers that I made it one long one. And while I'm typing this author's note, I'm trying to draw a picture of the rainforest for my spanish project. So, needless to say, I have to go now.

Reviews = love!!!

p.s. Do you know what's really creepy??? My friend got brain surgery a couple days ago, so he had to shave a line along his head where they cut it open and there are like huge crazy looking staples in the back of his head!!! It looks like he has a zipper there! It's perfect for Halloween and oh so disgusting! I screamed the first couple of times I saw it. Ew. :( But I do try to sympathize... poorly.


	11. Eleven: On the Road Again!

I know, I know! I haven't updated for months! I'm so sorry! :( But I have a good reason for not updating; finals! I managed to get a 4.6 GPA at the end, which meant I couldn't sleep for the past month. But I raise my Spanish grade seven percentage points in two weeks! Mad skills here!

Thanks fot the amazing reviews. You don't know how much they inspire me.

And someone mentioned that Chicago doesn't have carnivals in winter... I read somewhere that Chicago had an annual carnival in November, which is when this story is set, but I might be wrong. Sorry. Let's just say... they were in Navy Pier... Which just so happened to spring up a rollercoaster at the same time Leah and the gang visited... I'm the author, deal with it! ;)

Anyways, on with the story!

* * *

At nine, I returned to the hotel room to be met by a swarm of my admirers.

"How'd it go?" Seth anxiously asked. Judging by the way there was a chair positioned right next to the door, I don't think he'd moved one inch from that spot the entire hour and half.

I groaned and tossed my bag across the room on the bed. Emmett was on my other side, looking beyond curious. Only Jasper seemed mellow from across the room. For that, I was grateful. "It was _horrible_. You guys made him so uncomfortable that _I _got uncomfortable and you know how I am when I'm uncomfortable…"

Seth's eyes were huge, "You _didn't_," He gasped. I nodded miserably.

Emmett frowned, "She didn't what?"

Seth sadly shook his head and sat back down on the chair, "Leah does three things when she's nervous and all three of them are so strange that no guy in his right mind could possibly want her after the disgusting-"

"Alright! He gets it!" I moaned, slumping down face-first on the couch.

"Anyways… She talks about random subjects and goes on and _on _about them. Like that one time she talked about elephant mating habits for five whole minutes during her speech for her fifth grade graduation," Emmett barked with laughter. I groaned and covered my ears, but let him go on. "She also laughs hysterically when she's nervous… Like a hyena on meth. It's _so _annoying you can't even imagine it… And lastly, but worst of all, she _eats_."

"She eats?" Emmett curiously asked, "What's so bad about that?"

Seth shook his head, "You don't get it. She doesn't eat, she _eats_. Like everything in a three yard radius of her gets sucked in her mouth. It's so revolting that even to this day, I can't even smell Sour Patch Kids without puking… Now add her eating with her rambling with her hysteric laughter and what do we get?"

"Complete disaster," I groaned, my voice slightly muffled.

"Exactly," Seth agreed.

"It couldn't have been _that _bad, right?" I looked up to find Jasper suddenly sitting on the sofa armrest… Scary how fast he moves.

I gave him a look, "Ethan didn't even _try _to kiss me!" The room fell silent.

"_That _bad?!" Even Seth was awed.

"But he's a horny college kid! How could he _not_ try to get laid?!" Emmett was completely stunned, as though the sun suddenly iced over. "What has the world come to?!"

Out of the blue, I felt calm indifference wash over me. I looked up and smiled at Jasper. Without a word, I pulled myself up and dumped the pretty white roses in the trash. If I wanted sickeningly sweet, pale, beautiful objects to look at, well, I had two vampires, didn't I? Stupid flowers. Stupid Ethan. I plopped back down on the couch. "You-" I pointed at Emmett, "Get the chocolates. You-" I pointed at Seth, "Get the chick flicks. You-" I frowned at Jasper, "Just stay with me." Without bothering to argue with me, Seth and meathead rushed out the door so fast all I saw was a blur.

I stared blankly at the Monster Truck show, annoyed at life. Why do I even try anymore? I should've known Ethan and I would have never worked. He's too modest, too decent. I'm too wild for him. I need someone on the same par as me; someone who can keep up, yet someone honest enough to never leave me. Ethan's got the second part, but he doesn't deserve someone as messed up as me. He deserves your perfect, sweet, empty-minded, Bella-like girl. I guess, in a way, this all worked out right. We weren't right for each other and the disasters of tonight proved just that. But still… Life sucked.

"I didn't like Ethan, anyways."

I saw Jasper sliding over to sit next to me from the corner of my eye, but decided I was going to let him off just this once and not throw a hissy fit. "Why not? He was nice, and smart, and honest, and cute, and… just a really, really good guy."

Jasper shrugged and moved closer so his fingers brushed my bare knee. Immediately, my head drooped and I realized why people bothered advocating marijuana legalization. "He wasn't right for you."

"Hmm…" He was right, yet I wasn't going to give it to him, "Why?"

"You deserve better," he said, now actively stroking my knee. Butterflies danced in my stomach and strange shivers ran down my back, but because of his physical touch, I was completely unfazed. Not thinking, I leaned against him. He didn't stop tracing little invisible patterns in my skin, "Someone who understands you… Ethan was too uptight. You need someone more… laid-back, more… what do you kids call it these days?"

"Chill," I instantly said, grinning, "Geez, grandpa. The redcoats are gone."

"Actually, that's the American Revolution."

"Exactly."

There was a brief silence. I sighed, "The strangest shit always happens to me, doesn't it?"

Jasper looked at me. I could almost feel his concern as his long fingers stroked mine. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing, Leah."

I laughed, "You know, I thought the only one who could possibly relate to my situation was Jacob. I thought he was going to keep on chasing after Bella for the rest of eternity… Do you know how close Bella was to miscarrying? Do you know how close Jacob was to spending the rest of his life in anguish?" _Like _me? I completely in my head, but didn't dare voice my thoughts. I paused for a second. Jasper was biting his lip sympathetically. He gently smoothed a lock of hair out of my face with his free hand and my heart skipped a beat. Warmth spread through my body, but it wasn't enough to stop my distress. My voice softened, "Do you think he's out there? Or possibly dead, even?"

Jasper didn't have to ask to know who I was talking about. He opened his mouth, probably to assure me and feed me lies, but then seemed to think better of it and sighed, "I don't know, Leah. I just don't… I'm sorry." We fell silent again. I stared down at my lap. Truth be told; I was enjoying Jasper's cool touch a little too much… The feeling of his hands on my flustered skin was going to drive me insane. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to relish the sensations.

"But, what I don't get is…" I looked back at Jasper, "_Why_ do you need an imprint to be happy? What about all those people out there who've found love the traditional way- by falling in love? Don't you want to be controlled by your own fate, Leah?"

"Yeah, I guess…" I softly admitted, "But laying eyes on that one perfect person and knowing you're going to spend the rest of your life with him no matter what? Well, that's just easier, isn't it? But I don't even know if it's possible… I'm the only chick werewolf, aren't I? So I'm probably messed up in that department or something…"

Jasper was quiet for a minute. "You're lucky, Leah. You have complete control of your future. You can do or be whatever you want. Freedom, Leah. I know you well enough to know that you'd never want to be controlled by some intangible force. Isn't free will most important?"

I was silent for a while to process all this information. Imprinting would be so easy. My life was not easy. Imprinting would be like suicide; the easiest way to give up and announce to the world your weakness. The only thing I was completely sure of in this entire world was that I was not weak. Suicide was the most cowardly action a human being could commit. Lapsing to an imprint was only second to that. Emily was always weaker than me. Sam was utterly pathetic. No. I would never lower myself down to that level. "You're right." My voice was strangely breathless and I abruptly stood up, breaking off my physical contact with Jasper. "I- I will never imprint."

Jasper's forehead furrowed, "It isn't something you can control, Leah."

I sighed and slumped back down next to him. "Maybe I will imprint one day, but I swear, I will never give in. I'm not like Jacob or Paul or… Sam. It's suicide," I didn't even bother explaining my analogy, "Completely messed up."

Before Jasper could reply, Emmett and Seth burst in the door, "Who's messed up?" Emmett curiously asked, eying the nonexistent space between Jasper and me with a disgusting, lecherous gleam in his eyes. He dumped a box of chocolates on the table by me.

I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat and moved to the opposite end of the couch, crossing my arms over my chest. Instantly, the hand Jasper held burned, protesting the heat of the crook of my arm, but I held firm, "What movie did you get?"

Seth pulled a bag from behind him, "Um, I got the _Hangover_, if you want a good laugh, _Ten Things I Hate About You_ if you want to check out Heath Ledger, _Factory Girl_, if you want to make fun of Sienna Miller, and the entire third season of _One Tree Hill_, if you want to simultaneously check out Chad Michael Murray, make fun of Sophia Bush, and laugh at their bad acting. Your choice."

I grinned, "You know me too well, brother. Bring on the cheap full grown women pretending to be high school cheerleaders!"

***

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in bed, though I couldn't remember getting there. Last thing I remember, we were on our third episode of the love triangle/quadrilateral between the slut girl, the other slut girl and a bunch of guys when everything went black. I sat up and realized that I was in my full clothing from the night before. Someone must have tucked me in, and judging by the fact that all my clothing was properly on my body, it couldn't have been Emmett.

I yawned and tumbled out of bed for a nice, hot shower. Was it just me or did it seem that we covered less and less ground every day? When I finished my shower and got dressed, I marched purposefully into Seth's room. He was already awake, munching on a doughnut with both vampires surrounding him, Jasper's head buried in a map. He looked up briefly to smile at me, "Good morning, Leah."

"Yeah, what's so good about it?" I grumbled, shoving Seth out of his chair so I could take it. He good-naturedly pouted, but found another chair, not wanting to mess with morning Leah. She was a real bitch.

Emmett chuckled at me, "Someone's not a morning person!" He sang, overjoyed. Well, damn him. Just because he doesn't have to sleep…

"We're wasting time," I suddenly said, "I bet if we tried really hard, we could get to Buffalo tonight!"

Jasper frowned, "Leah, Buffalo's nearly six hundred miles away," he said, putting down his map.

"Well, it's," I glanced at the wall, "nearly ten right now, so if we go at 60 mph for ten hours, we'd arrive, which would be around eight. See? Perfect!"

"But we have to stop to eat and there's traffic in the cities and-"

"Just get in the car!" I growled. Geez, Seth was such a spoilsport.

***

"We are _way _above the speed limit!" Seth complained. Everyone seemed to be clutching down to their seats and Seth looked like he was about to shit himself, but I didn't care. This was too much fun. I think the guys knew that I was going to have this much fun driving recklessly because Jasper was put in the front seat to calm me down once I got intense bouts of road rage, but I didn't even care about that. I was queen of the world!

"Whee!" I exclaimed in exuberance, whipping past a large blue minivan that honked at me in annoyance. Seth looked scared out of his mind, but Jasper smiled lazily at me. You see, what meathead number 1 and 2 didn't know was that Jasper _liked_ me like that. None of us could die from a silly car crash, so I don't think he cared if I totaled the car, as long as I kept feeling like I was on crack. I was on top of the world! There was nothing that could slow me down, except-

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Seth grumbled from the backseat. I immediately slowed back down to the legal limit…

***

At exactly seven-thirty, we arrived in Buffalo. I have no clue how, but I was mighty proud of myself. Of course, there's the fact that we only stopped once for McDonald's and bathroom breaks and I allowed myself to go a good 20-30 miles above the speed limit once Seth fell asleep… But those were just petty details. We made it to Buffalo! Our journey was officially half complete! Wah-hoo!

I was slightly bored with the silence in the car, so I had to find a way to distract myself from the humdrum of city traffic- I began rolling my r's really loudly, like some kind of purring cat. Seth was too tired to remark on my lameness and even Emmett was silent for once. Jasper gave me an amused look, but decided not to comment. I took a deep breath and rolled my r's so long, even after I ran out of breath, that I was almost blue in the face. Though I was gasping for breath, I considered the drawn out purring sound an achievement and grinned, "Ow, my tongue's tingling."

"Then I guess you'll have to find some better use for that tongue," Jasper lazily drawled from beside me. My jaw dropped in pleasant surprise. Seth was just as surprised, though also disgusted.

"Whoo! Good one bro!" Emmett crowed, reaching forward to pound his brother's arm.

Jasper looked unfazed, casually leaning against the door frame and smiling at me. Seth looked like he wanted to die, "That's it. Leah, when we get home, you're getting a sex change."

"I really don't want to be ruled by my penis, like all others of your species are," I said, shooting Jasper a dirty look.

"Fine… You can at least start cross-dressing."

"Relax, Sethy. How 'bout I promise not to do that… purring thing… what's it called again?"

"The Alveolar trill?" He helpfully offered. My jaw dropped for the second time in one minute. Since when did Seth get so smart?! And Jasper so perverted?! There was only one way to fix all this: Out pervert everyone.

"Hey, do ya know what I just realized?" I idly said, weaving out from between two giant trucks, "Bella and Edwardkins did the nasty, duh, Lock Ness monster didn't just pop out of nowhere, but what about the other way around? Hmm… Now that I think about it, it's impossible for a human guy to fuck a vamp chick… Or at least it'd be extremely painful."

Seth was flabberghasted, "How does anyone…? Who just randomly thinks of...?" He groaned.

Emmett ignored him, "I've never really thought of that… Hey, Jazz, aren't Tanya and Kate into that stuff?"

"I've never asked them… Not a very good conversation starter, is it?" Jasper dryly replied.

I snickered, "So, how's it possible? Wouldn't they just snap their dicks with their frozen, cement vaginas?"

"Leah!" Seth exclaimed, extremely abashed. Heat colored his cheeks. I rolled my eyes. Shouldn't he be used to my vulgarity by now?

"Oh, trust me; they're _not _frozen and cement," Emmett declared, wriggling his eyebrows in a suggestive mood. I left him alone to drool over thoughts of Rosalie's vagina.

"Emmett, _please_," Jasper twitched slightly in unease.

I grinned. Here's to kicking it up a notch. I swerved past a school bus, narrowly ramming into an old lady in an ancient Beetle, "What a boner-shrinker…" I idly muttered, wincing at thoughts of high school boys humping frozen walls. "Anywhoo- Do you know what'd be worse than that?"

"What?!" Emmett excitedly asked, pleased by the conversation subject.

"What Bella and Eddie-kins had to go through…" I shuddered, "A chunk of ice pounding into you with leech strength. How repulsing!" A shiver of disgust ran down my back.

Jasper flashed me another ridiculously enticing half grin, "How do you know before you try?"

I laughed in delight, "Wow, BS, didn't know you had it in you!" I fluttered my eyelashes alluringly and lowered my voice, "Are you offering?" I purred. He didn't have to reply; all he had to do was smile at me with those smoldering tawny eyes and suddenly I couldn't remember how to breathe.

"Eyes on the wheel!" Seth barked.

"Oh, right…" Just in time, I kept from killing a pedestrian… Oops.

From the rearview mirror, I could see Seth look as though the Earth had turned on him, but even Emmett looked upset. "How come I get punched when I say something naughty, but Jasper gets encouragement?!" He crossly folded his arms across his chest.

"How 'bout we _don't _sexually assault my sister?" Seth hotly said.

"Why not? She's the _shit_!"

I grinned, "Oh, don't I know it?"

"Please don't boost her ego," Seth grumbled.

"Don't hate; appreciate," I rhymed in a gangster voice.

"Oh, wow. You're _really_ the next Eminem, aren't you?" Seth sarcastically said.

"I know, ho."

"…That was really horrible."

"Oh really? Let's see you try to… not cry?" I finished weakly.

"Dr. Seuss hour is officially over," Jasper said.

"_Thank you_!"

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue-"

"Leah!"

"Shutting up."

* * *

I'm not too satisfied with this chapter for some reason... Hmm... But anyways, next chapter is in Jasper's POV, which I am very excited to test out! I swear the next chapter will be shorter because next term I have easy classes!

But this chapter was just my strange imagination. What would a car full of mystical creatures talk about? And bam! Leah's wicked mind!

I'm sorry if I've offended any One Tree Hill fans. My friend forced me to watch it one day and I laughed until I cried and almost peed myself. O.o

Reviews= love


	12. Twelve: Buffalo

Oh, geez. I haven't updated in forever! :( I wish I could blame my hectic life, but sadly, my life's been pretty bland. I only have my only damn laziness to blame now. :( But to make it up to my amazing, faithful readers, I've added my creative musing of what Leah's date with Ethan was actually like. I had so much fun having Leah relate it to the guys that I was inspired to actually write it. I just thought of what would be the worst date ever, and bam! Instant horror story! :) And after this little story, we go back to the main story, but in Jasper's POV. Sorry for the wait. :( Enjoy!

* * *

"This is nice," I said, for the hundredth time that evening… And we only just finished our soup. The night wasn't even half over and I was at a loss for words.

"Yeah. It is." He quietly wiped his mouth with his napkin and stared aimlessly at the candle in the middle of the table- anywhere but at my face.

I cleared my throat loudly, just to create noise- anything to fill in this uncomfortable void. "So… What do you plan to major in at Chicago State?"

"Consumer Accounting. How about you?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Nothing?" He frowned.

"Yeah… I don't really… I'm not a student right now."

"You're not in school? So what are you doing right now?"

I could feel my face heat up. What was I doing with my life? Running around loose in La Push as a mythical creature? Luckily, our waiter reappeared with our main courses. "You know… I just- I-" I quickly took my pasta and shoveled a quarter of the dish in my mouth. My cheeks stuffed, I shrugged, as though that was the perfect answer to his question, and chewed rapidly.

Ethan stared at me blankly for a while. I suddenly realized how unattractive it was to stuff my face with food. With some effort, I managed to swallow. I cleared my throat again, "This place is nice."

"Yeah. It-"

"Do you know what's funny?" I quickly cut him off. Without waiting for a response, I continued, "Chandeliers." He gave me a blank look. "I mean, what's up with them? They're shaped perfectly like nooses! You could easily one around your neck, with your chin tucked comfortably in and hang yourself! I wonder why they hadn't thought of that earlier… You know it would be way more convenient to hang yourself on one 'cuz you wouldn't have to waste money on a gun, and ropes break sometimes, you know, and it failed, it'd be pretty painful and a waste if you're not gonna die after all, which would be pretty embarrassing ya'know…" I stopped rambling long enough to realize I was freaking Ethan out. I laughed shrilly and took a long sip of my water. "So… if you wanted to commit suicide, I think you should break in here after dark…" I lamely concluded, wiping my damp palms on my shirt.

"Thanks… That's…. good advice."

I laughed, semi-hysterically, so loud that people from other tables looked over, suspicious. None of this was funny, but I couldn't stop laughing. And Ethan couldn't stop staring at me like I was some kind of two-headed donkey. I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes and my ribs began to hurt.

"Um… Is there something funny?"

"Double chins!" I burst out before I could help myself, "They don't make sense! It's like, what? You're overweight so you get to have a second chin???" I cracked up, "Why not noses or eyebrows? I think we should grow a third eyebrow on our foreheads when we gain weight!" My logic didn't make sense, not even to myself, but I was on a roll.

"Leah," Ethan was dead serious, "Are you on something?" I merely laughed at him. "…Er, right." He cleared his throat, "Er, waiter, check please!"

I responded by burping loudly and snatching Ethan's untouched burger and demolishing the entire thing in one bite.

***

* * *

_Jasper's POV_

I was playing Texas hold 'em with Emmett, and winning, of course, when the clock struck midnight. Not to sound like a Disney fairytale or anything, but I had to leave.

"Don't worry; I'll annihilate you later, Em."

He stuck out his tongue at me in response. I grinned at him and slipped out into the hall. We had a really nice room over-viewing Lake Erie, though why we bothered I never understood as we were traveling with a teenage boy and reclusive girl who thought she was the most brilliant person on this Earth, but what the hell? It was Edward's credit card that went missing a couple weeks ago. No big deal.

I plastered a cautious smile on for the receptionist, who batted her eyelashes as though she were Vivien Leigh back in the period where actresses could actually act and our youth wasn't obsessed with sex and drugs… The receptionist radiated longing like a dog in heat, but I wasn't the least bit tempted. I felt her disappointment as I casually passed by her, but I took no heed and exited out the sliding glass doors. Female adolescents were so superficial these days. It was distressing. If I weren't attractive, but brilliant and nice, little Miss faux blonde hair back there wouldn't look twice.

I suppose I should be used to this by now, but the shallowness of humanity still stuns me. Doesn't Miss Blonde realize that none of that matters? That good-looking guys are usually the worst kind? I know I was back as a human…

Why do looks and money matter if they can't make you happy? Sure, Goldilocks thinks they will, but no one can be happy in her superficial world. If she had any brains, she'd leave the city and marry a farmer or something. What the blonde receptionist really wants is attention. She's living in this world where an expensive new hair cut will get kudos from her worthless friends for a minute. She can't and will _never_ live up to society's measures. Because that's the whole point of our society, so no one will achieve it, whatever this "it" is. Status? Money? No. I think it is happiness. You see the farmer would lavish all his attention on his trophy wife. Too bad she doesn't see it. It's so simply actually. Rather pathetic that she doesn't get it. But that's life in the twenty-first century… Lord, it's times like this that make me long for the good ol' days of the nineteenth century where all we worried about was staying alive…

"Hey, blondie. What'cha doin'?"

I blinked, already identifying the voice, but wheeling around regardless, "I might ask you the same thing, Leah," I frowned at her, "It's midnight. I don't sleep. You do."

"_Wow_," She gasped in faux astonishment, "How'd you get so bright all of a sudden?"

It's always the same. Everyone wants to be cool and they mistakenly put popularity in the same category of being loved; admired. I know for a fact that the "coolest" kids are also the most despised. What is popularity, anyways? Who determines it? How are they popular if everyone hates them? Isn't that an oxymoron? But everyone keeps working towards that common goal, regardless… I looked at Leah, her hair tangled and messy, not a drop of make-up on her perfect face, and fuzzy pink slippers in the shape of piglets on her feet… Maybe not _everyone. _

"What _exactly _are you doing?" I looked suspiciously at the plastic bag full of… what was it in there?!

Leah looked sheepish, "It's not what you think…"

"Leah, is that _marijuana_?" I was completely outraged, but something didn't add up. Leah Clearwater would _not _do drugs.

She gave me a look and opened the bag. I expected a waft of marijuana but instead the scent was completely different. "It's not drugs, see?"

My face was now a permanent frown, "Leah, what're you doin' at midnight with a bag-a catnip?"

A charming smile suddenly appeared on her face, "It's adorable how your southern accent's all strong when you're mad."

If I were still human, I would have blushed. Instead, I shook it off, "I'm not mad, I'm simply confused; explain, please."

She grinned deviously, "Well, Ah been standin' out here only fer a few minutes, gramps! There's one a 'em pet stores a coupla blocks away, so Ah went and got me some catnip!"

I winced, "That's really what we sound like to you?"

She giggled, "It's your vowels… They're all weird. Even when you're trying to talk normal, I still can hear it."

I awkwardly scratched my head. Not many people notice my southern undertones as I'm usually extremely capable of hiding them. Leah was just something else. "Are you done?" I slowly said, pronouncing each word with care. Then I realized how Leah was actually distracting me and I sighed, "Leah, just tell me what you're up to."

She sighed as well, "Fine… Come with me."

I took her offered hand without a word, a bit too gleeful at the opportunity for my own liking. She frowned back at me for a second but before I could ask her what she was thinking, she shrugged it off and dragged me in a dark alley. I suddenly grew apprehensive, "Leah, where are we going?"

Leah gestured for me to be quiet and silently stared right above us. We were in an alley between the hotel and a convenience store, so I was utterly confused as to what was so important that we had to crouch down in the dirty darkness of a garbage-filled alley and stare up at the roof of the convenience store. I wanted to laugh, but Leah's eyes were dead serious. She lifted up the open bag of catnip and began shaking the contents. "Here kitty, kitty," She crooned, "Come and get it!"

Was it just me or were we _really_ here just for a- Suddenly there was a hiss and the sound of claws scratching the cement roof up above. "I think it's a girl… Quick, Jasper, make a mating call!"

"What?!" I was in utter disbelief, "I don't know how-"

Leah made the same trilling sound (the Alveolar trill, thank god for genius teenagers) as a few hours ago, but frowned when the cat above hissed again, "It's no use; she knows I'm a chick. Jasper, you try it!"

"What?! I'm not gonna-"

"Just do it!"

"Fine!" Leah could be a real bully if she wanted to. I self-consciously began rolling my r's. As soon as I started, I felt Leah's eyes on me, but when I turned to look at her, she instantly looked away… Was it just me or was she blushing? Hmm… Unfortunately the cat took my Alveolar trill the wrong way as we heard more hissing. I sighed in exasperation, "I'll buy you a cat if you'll let me stop."

She put both hands on her hips and turned to glare at me. I suddenly wished the street lamp's glare was just a few inches wider so I could see her face better. Of course, having vampire vision, I already could see her pretty well, but it was so dark, it was difficult. And besides, Leah's features were better in full visibility where you could see every inch of her perfection. "Jasper, it's not about the cat. It's …" She quickly stopped herself and pretended to be uncommonly interested in her blue unicorn boxer shorts.

I felt waves of embarrassment roll off her. There was something wrong that she didn't want to tell me about. I instantly took her hand (since when did it become so easy making physical contact with a werewolf?) and send waves of cool through her. I imagined the lake's waves, which were only a half a mile or so away from this area, actually. When her heart rate slowed, I stopped but didn't let go of her deliciously warm hand. I stared her intently in the eye, knowing that nothing I could say could help the situation any more, and patiently waited.

I did not have to wait long. She swallowed hard, "It's about…" Was the candy wrapper on the ground really that interesting? "The cat doesn't like me." She simply said. It all suddenly came to me and sympathy washed over me. I tightened my grip on her hand. Leah glared at me and wrenched her hand from mine, "Don't you dare feel sorry for me!" She hissed.

"How did you know I-"

A strange sound came from her throat that sounded like a mix between a choked sob and a snort of bitter amusement, "Most people don't like me. I've accepted that long ago. But this… _animal_… I can't even comprehend it… It's always the same. And do you know why? Because I'm a _bitch_!" She threw her head back and laughed.

Taking chances, though it was my life on the line, I slowly laced my fingers through hers. It still stunned me how perfectly our hands fit. Hers were smaller but had long fingers that could easily thread through my large ones. Alice's hand disappeared in mine; we didn't lace fingers like this; I held her tiny one. I would never admit this, but this felt more natural… It felt… _right_.

"_I _like you," I softly said. Her dark eyes met mine, but they were unreadable in the dim lighting. "Yes, you are a bitch, but if a bitch is the definition of someone who speaks her mind no matter how society frowns upon it, then I want to be a bitch as well."

She couldn't help but smile at me, though a bit mockingly, "You want to be a bitch?" There was outright skeptism in tone, but I overlooked it.

"Sure, but not everyone can be like you… You're brave enough to break with tradition and say it like it is. Unfortunately, I can't do that. But you can. And I admire you for that."

Wait- there was a way to make this all better. I concentrated until I could feel the fright radiating off the cat a few yards above us and erased all fear. I looked down at Leah's hand in my own and concentrated in the proverbial spark that ran through my body in waves of heat whenever I was near her. Instantly, the cat poked her head from on top of the roof. Without a second thought, she meowed and leaped off to land gracefully on the ground to purr against Leah's bare legs.

She gave me a look, "That's cheating, you know."

I shrugged, "This cat's emotions are obviously messed up if she doesn't like you… why not tamper with them a bit more?"

Leah didn't reply but broke our linked hands to bend down and pick up the purring cat, "Aww, aren't you a good kitty? Oh yes you are, yes you are!" I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at her overly sweet cooing voice.

She cleared her throat, a little embarrassed, "Um, sorry for dumping all that on you."

I smiled, "No problem. I'm glad you told me… So you've had your fun now. It's late and we have a long day ahead of us. Why don't you head back up to get some sleep?"

Leah frowned, hugging ball of orange fluff closer to her face, "And leave you alone with her? How do I know you're not gonna shoot and roast her?"

I tried to sound exasperatedly, but I know she knew I was merely amused, "Leah, how many times do I have to tell you? Just because I'm from the south doesn't mean I'm a redneck or a hillbilly."

She looked thoughtful, "I broke one's nose once at a Long's Drugs…"

I blinked, "What?"

She blinked back, "Never mind. Long story… I'll tell you someday… Anyways, what were you saying?"

It was difficult to keep from smiling at Leah's cute antics, "Why are you so obsessed about the fact that I'm southern? I don't freak out about the fact that Carlisle's a Brit or Emmett's Irish."

Leah burst into laughter, "I knew he was a leprechaun!"

I tried to keep my face straight, "Stay on track, Leah."

"They're always after me Lucky Charms!" She sang, looking overjoyed.

"_Leah. _Just-"

"Hearts, stars and horseshoes, clover and blue moons, pots of gold and-"

I snapped the waistband of her shorts with the ridiculous unicorns. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my fingers from lingering on her hips and I accidently felt the hot skin there. Her breathing hitched immediately and I had to almost bite off my tongue to keep from stroking the silky skin. At least that shut her up, "You didn't answer my question." Damn. Why did my voice sound so breathless? It's not as though I needed to breathe. The excitement and longing pouring off Leah made me realize that I was in the perfect position to lean over and trap her against the wall so I could freely touch that intoxicating skin… Kiss those enticing full lips… Run my fingers through that lush hair and-

The cat meowed loudly, jerking me out of my suicidal thoughts. It leaped out of Leah's arms and out into the street. Leah shrugged at my worried face, "Nah, don't worry about her; she'll find her way."

We stood there for a moment, silent. I was overwhelmingly curious about my original question, but there was no way I was going to speak again until it was absolutely necessary… I didn't trust my own tongue around her anymore. I was the charismatic one… It would be difficult, but I don't think impossible, if I'm reading Leah's emotions right, to seduce her right into my trap. I was the war veteran after all. With a single glance at our current positions, I knew the best strategies to take her. She shouldn't be so difficult. My unnatural attractiveness could reel her in. It should be easy. This was the guy who faced the Union army, remember?

If I began speaking about Alice, I could exploit her sympathies to pull her in, then pound every ounce of lust I felt for her until she couldn't resist… If I put my left arm directly above her head, I could cage her in and shift my body at a thirty degree angle for the best possible position to maneuver... If I knocked my feet slightly to the right, it'd hit the back of her ankle in a position where she'd have to trip into my arms… It shouldn't be difficult from there. After all, didn't she say she was curious about vampires? Or, at least something like that? Lord, this was the last time I joined one of their lewd conversations. Yes, I could out vulgar everyone else, but it wasn't even worth out-doing Emmett if it led to indecent thoughts about Leah popping in my head like this… Ugh. If she knew what I was thinking, she'd be gone in a flash. Thank God Edward doesn't get offended too easily.

"It's… nice."

I blinked at her. What did she say?

I didn't have to ask; she quickly clarified, "Your earlier question… Why I pick on your heritage so much… Well, this is gonna sound so dorky, but as a kid, I've always had a thing for the cowboy type… You know, like John Wayne? And here's an actual living, breathing cowboy… One of the last… You must know my fascination… As twisted as that is; the cowboys and Indians…" She laughed uncomfortably.

I couldn't help it; this was too rich. I laughed as well, "Schoolboys _do _tease girls they like."

Leah glared at me, "You're taking this _way _out of context. And who said that?"

"Fortune cookie," I grinned, "I sure am real surprised, ma'am," I exaggerated my twang, making her shoot me dirty looks.

"Haha. Real nice." She looked annoyed, but interesting enough, I felt embarrassment flow off her.

"Sorry, ma'am," I tipped my imaginary hat to her.

Leah looked close to scratching my eyes out. She cleared her throat loudly, "What are you doing out here, anyways?"

I frowned. What was I doing out here? My mind blanked. "I'm here to… escort you back to bed… How'd you even get down here?"

"Jumped out the window," She nonchalantly said.

"And how do you propose on getting back up?"

"I hadn't exactly planned that far…" She admitted, frowning up at the hotel.

"I guess we'll have to go in the normal, human way."

"Aw, you're no fun. I was thinking we get a grappling hook and some rope and climb our way up… Or jet packs. Maybe even steal Emmett's magical rainbow."

"Leah, are you _drunk_?"

She scoffed at me, "I was driving earlier. I don't drink and drive."

"Thank goodness for that," I muttered under my breath, placing a hand between her shoulder blades and ushering her into the hotel.

The blonde receptionist perked up immediately, "Welcome back to the-" But she immediately stopped as she saw Leah. She wasn't going to dare try me with such a beautiful girl in my acquaintance. She saw Leah as too much of a threat. I gave her a wide smile as we passed, but she only stared gloomily back.

"That chick's staring at me like I'm a loser!" Leah hissed at me, suddenly self-conscious of the fact that she was in her animal themed pajamas.

"No she's not," I easily said, leading her into the elevator.

"Then why'd she shoot me dirty looks?"

"She's intimidated by you."

Leah snorted, waving her fuzzy pink slippers at me, "Oh, yeah. _So _scary."

I thought about explaining things to her, but decided it wasn't worth it. "Don't go sneaking out at night without telling me first."

"Well, I told Seth."

"You told Seth you were stalking a stray cat and he agreed to let you go?" I skeptically asked.

She twittered with a loose lock of hair that fell out of her messy ponytail, "No, I actually told him I was going to grab 'girly' stuff from the store next door."

"But you don't have your-" I immediately stopped myself, feeling ashamed that I almost brought that up. I knew how sensitive women were about this stuff.

Luckily, Leah seemed unfazed. She shrugged, "Well, you know how thick Seth can be at times… Just mention anything girly and he'll freak… Typical teenage meathead behavior. Jacob and the rest of the pack are the same way."

I chuckled, "Is that your way of getting out of everything?"

She shot me a coy look over her shoulder, "How do you think I played volleyball a grand total of only three times all throughout high school gym?"

"The teacher was male?"

"Bingo!" The door finally slid open and I walked her to bed…

It wasn't until Leah was safely tucked away when I realized that I forgot to call Alice for our daily midnight conversations…

* * *

I think I may be having technical difficulties, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I had such a great time writing Jasper and delving deep into the dark secrets and musings of his mind. :) I think I like changing up the POV of the story and I'll try to do it more frequently. I know there will be a Seth one coming up because I feel like I've neglected him, but any suggestions for other ones?

Oh, and there's bad news: I feel like I've fallen out of my obsession with the Leaper romance. Sorry. I'm not frantically writing about it anymore like I did all summer and fall. I'm just not interested in Twilight at all anymore. :( But I'll try my hardest to complete the story because I feel like it's just humorous crap right now and I have this brilliant brainstorm for a plot idea that keeps nagging at me and won't go away. I really want to get to it, eventually. But I have no inspiration. -shrugs- sorry. But do you know what'll help? Nagging readers. I bet this story would have been completely forgotten long ago if I didn't constantly get angry messages and emails from readers demanding that I get off my lazy ass and write some more. You guys have no clue how great that is. So please send a little feedback and keep this going before I lose all energy and give up entirely. It's happened too often. Look at my writing history! :(

Reviews=love


	13. Thirteen: Niagara Falls For Real!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I know. I'm a horrible person! It's been too long! :( It's just that my laptop's been dead for ages and I couldn't figure out how to revive the internet. But this is no excuse because this chapter, along with another possibly three, has been typed up for over half a year. I've just been too lazy to post it. :( But no worries, loyal readers! Now with functional internet on my laptop, I will post the rest! I can't believe we are almost to the end of what I have for the story. It seems like ages ago I typed this up. Last summer... But don't worry! I've renewed interest in this story! I still despise all things Twilight now, but I have a certain fondness for this story. It will be completed. I'm too attached not to complete it. Besides, I took a mini road trip just two weeks ago driving all the way up and down California, so I've been newly inspired. :) I'm still actively writing everyday, but not so much fanfictions anymore. :( But I'll promise to try to get back into this fic.

Anywhoo, in this chappie, there's a mini-climax. But then again, there's gonna be like 7 climaxes (whoa, just realized how naughty that sounds!) in this story. It's gonna be so dramatic, like an eppie of Days of Our Lives on steroids. Yup.

Sorry for this long, rather pointless author's note... Enjoy!

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_Jasper's POV_

Leah was eating a Popsicle. A chocolate one that proudly claimed to be a "Fudgsicle," though why, I had no idea for that was about the least original name they could come up with. Even a kindergartener could combine two words together. I have no clue where she managed to find a Popsicle in November when it was practically snowing outside, but I knew for a fact that whoever sold her one should be arrested for second degree rape… The "Fudgsicle" was long, round, and _frozen_. It strongly resembled a- well, as the current corrupt, over-sexified generation, you _know_ what I'm talking about. The question remained; did Leah have _any _idea what she was doing? Emmett and I full out ogled while Seth appeared to be perfectly unaware as he ate his eggs.

A slow tremor, invisible to the naked eye, ran down my spine as I watched her slowly twirl her tongue around tip. She was reading a brightly colored glossy book filled with superficial crap that females of her generation seemed to hold in high regard… I didn't consider it a magazine. I knew what magazines were; glorified newspapers to advertize and inform about current events. I did not consider the fact that bubble skirts were now "out" to be an important current event. But then again, what did I know about young women?

She ran her tongue up and down the Popsicle and all musings on contemporary female culture fled my mind. Next to me, Emmett looked as though he was going to start drooling… I was proud to say I held myself together a little better…

That was before she put the frozen treat in her mouth and sucked on it- _hard_. My mouth suddenly went dry. This was _so _wrong. Yet, along with Emmett, I couldn't help imagining her doing something much different with that full little mouth of hers…

I tried to resist submerging into my dark fantasies as I watched her work on that lucky little Fudgsicle, but it was difficult. Edward wasn't here, thank the lord, so I should be fine, right? Before I could further deliberate it, Leah took half of the popsicle in her mouth and sucked hard, as though she was trying to bend it in half, though failing, and my mind quickly sank into a twisted little daydream of her tongue moving over something as equally frozen…

Disgruntled with the fact that the Fudgsicle wouldn't break in half, Leah took it out of her mouth and promptly bit it in half, brutally crunching it into bits with her razor-sharp, shape-shifter teeth. If I could, I would have paled. I met Emmett's eyes and saw the mutual horror in them. We quickly ducked our heads and pretended to be awful interested in the table cloth.

Seth frowned at us, "What's wrong with you two?"

I laughed softly, "It's a vampire thing."

Something was awfully wrong with me. I was making vulgar cracks with Leah and Emmett. Now Seth, a teenage boy, seemed to be the only mature one. The world had officially toppled over. But it wasn't just that… I was beginning to care for Leah. Even worse, I was beginning to see Leah in the light most men did… Disgusting. I shuddered. I blame this on Emmett. Being around him was finally rubbing off on me. Just watch; I was going to go back to Forks wearing baseball caps askew and commenting on the size of everyone's genital areas...

I must be really messed up if I agreed to go on a month long trip with my annoying, crude, obnoxious brother who can't seem to remember he's not the brainless quarterback in high school anymore, a naïve, overprotective, teenage shapeshifter and his vulgar, bi-polar, eccentric, anti-social, violent, moody, brazen, insufferable sister… Descriptions of her went on and on… Leah was also absolutely crazy, highly volatile, quirky, witty, feisty, bitchy, audacious, arrogant, rebellious, loud, and undoubtedly one of them most complex people I'd met… But I've seen the other side of her… The loving, tender, hopeful, loyal, soft side of her. The part of her Sam broke. The heartbroken, longing side was what remained… Still, I wonder if Sam made her like this… What she had been like before?

"Where you always like this?"

Leah looked up confused, "What are you talking about?"

I could either dance around it or go full out and say it… I decided to just go for it, "A bitch, I mean?"

Seth and Emmett stiffened, both clearly waiting for some kind of dramatic blow up. Instead, a wide smile appeared on her face, "For Seth's ninth birthday, I hung him by his underwear on a flagpole and went to Chuck E. Cheese with his little boyfriends without him."

Seth grimaced, "Leah! You promised not to tell anyone about that!"

She ignored him and went on, "In third grade, on the last day of school, this fifth grader told me he had a crush on me and tried to hold my hand, so I broke his big toe and stole his crayons." I smiled. Sounds like typical Leah. "I was the one who put a jellyfish in Meredith Brown's underwear when she bought the same dress as me for prom... Sam thought he broke me…" Her voice softened considerably, "He thought he turned me into this… monster. What he didn't realize was already Queen Bitch herself. I guess I was happier back then, but I pretended to be someone else so he'd like me…" Her eyes flashed, "I will _never _do that again."

It was dead silent at our table. Around the room, there was the faint buzz of voices, but that seemed miles away. Everyone was staring at Leah, who was in return staring down at her hands, in surprise and sympathy. Even Emmett realized, for once, that he shouldn't speak.

I wanted to comfort her so bad, just by touching her hand or brushing the hair out of her face, but when Seth beat me to it, I settled for just tampering with her sullen emotions.

Leah laughed, the sound like liquid relief pouring down my stomach, and shrugged out of Seth's crushing bear hug, "Ok, so who's ready to jump off Niagara Falls?"

That led to an enthusiastic debate over who was going to push whom. I glanced cautiously over to Leah one more time, but she had her game face on, so I decided not to let her off the hook… This time. After all, today was the big day we'd all been waiting for.

_Leah's POV_

After about half an hour of driving, we arrived at Niagara Falls. Finally. The trip was over. Whoo hoo! My precious days would no longer be full of whining brothers and annoying, overbearing leeches! As we were climbing up, a random thought popped in my head.

"Do you think Bella got frostbite giving Edward head? Or do you think she got her tongue stuck to it? Maybe a brainfreeze?"

Seth seriously blanched, and turned around to frown at me, "You do realize that's disgusting and wrong, right?"

Jasper, who was walking by me, smiled easily, "Relax, Seth; I think it's wonderful your sister's doing some medical research before she tries something new."

I began to laugh in admiration. Seth turned sharply around with his hands on his hips, "Don't encourage her!"

I ignored him and shot Jasper a demure look, "Who said it would be something _new_?"

He grinned, "Practice makes perfect."

"What if I'm _already_ perfect?"

"Well, then why don't you demonstrate those talents, darlin'?"

Before I could respond, there was a yell from behind some bushes before Emmett hopped out, running at full speed towards us, an evil glint in his eyes. "Muhahaha!" He ran up to Seth and shoved him so hard that he flew backwards a couple feet and fell off the edge of the waterfall, "Take that, Seth Clearwater! You weren't expecting that, were you?" Ah. So that's why Emmett was so quiet during our perverted conversation; he was sneak-attacking Seth. "And do you know why? 'Cuz I'm too good for ya! I'm too sneaky; too sly too badass! James Bond got nothin' on me! Who da man? Who da-" His confident words became a shriek as Jasper silently snuck up behind him and pushed him over.

I couldn't even rejoice in the Emmett-suffering as Jasper and I were now eying each other suspiciously. I took a quick peek over the edge to make sure the two meatheads were okay, before reverting to a battle position where I could quickly attack Jasper if necessary.

"Jasper, if you push me off this waterfall, I swear- Well, I'm no fortune teller, but I see pain- _lots_ of pain in your future," I warningly hissed under my breath.

He too looked wary, "Fine. We'll jump together."

Not taking my eyes off him, I curtly nodded and quickly pulled off my jeans and t-shirt. I wore my unused white bikini from the first day. Jasper undressed as well, undoing his dark blue shirt and throwing his clothes next to mine. I nearly forgot how to breathe at the sight of a shirtless Jasper, but I quickly recovered. He sensed my feelings and smirked at me. I scowled back.

"On the count of three?"

I frowned suspiciously at him and held out my hand, "Fine. Hold my hand."

His eyebrows knitted together, "Why?"

"Because I'll drag you down with me if you try to pull anything," I threatened, my voice low.

He laughed, but took my offered hand, nonetheless. "Ok, ready?"

I nodded. As usual, when I made physical contact with Jasper, strange, alien emotions flooded my system. Not the disgustingly sickly sweet ones romance novelists describe; no, my heart was _not _fluttering and I didn't feel shivers run down my spine… too much. A minute ago, all I felt was excitement to jump. Now, I felt a bit of hollow apprehension and concern… for myself? I shook my head. What was going on?

"One, two, three!" We both jumped off at the same time.

Right before I hit the water, it occurred to me; those feelings weren't mine, they were _Jasper's. _Before I could gasp in surprise, I was submerged in icy water.

* * *

Yay! And they've finally made it to Niagara Falls! So much excitement! Though not as much as the World Cup this morning! I'm indifferent, but I went with Spain because Gerard Pique is marginally hotter than Robin van Persie... O.o Imagine if they let us girls run the World Cup...

Reviews = love (and a quicker update!)


	14. Fourteen: Still Niagara Falls

You know, I think this story's turned into a diary for me. O.o A glimpse into a deranged author's life. When I first learned how to roll my R's, BAM! It went into the story. I didn't know where Niagara Falls was. BAM! Into the story. I was at an amusement park. BAM! So was the gang. I was watching Jillian's season of the Bachlorette when Seth and Leah were... BAM!

I've read over previous chapters, and ahhhh! My eyes! Glaring mistakes everywhere! I was young and naive back then! I feel like I should fix it, but I think you all know how lazy I am by now. But I do have a heart! I felt bad for how short the last chapter was, so hopefully this should make it up to you. This was actually supposed to be two shorter chapters, but for all your sakes, I compressed them into one. :)

Enjoy!

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Jasper dragged me to shore coughing and sputtering. He looked at me in concern, but I quickly snatched my hand away and to glare at him, "Were you using your abilities on me a few minutes ago?"

He looked surprised, "No."

"Good," I was beyond angry, but the poor leech had no clue why, "_Never _use your powers on me again, hear?"

"If that's what you want, I won't…" He said, looking confused and helpless.

I almost felt sorry for him, but decided to let him sweat it out while I coughed a little more and sulked. Finally, I took pity and explained myself, "When we were up there, on top of the cliff, I felt your emotions," I sullenly explained, watching the magnificent water cascade down in annoyance.

He looked surprised, "I apologize. I might have been projecting…"

I looked at him, "Are you sure?"

He hesitated, "I don't usually do so and I haven't in years, but it's always a possibility."

I looked away. That wasn't a good enough explanation for me. "This wasn't the first time," I flatly said. I reached over and touched his bare arm. Muted feelings of surprise, confusion, and aggravation immediately filled me, "You're shocked, confused, and annoyed," I dully said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Don't even try to tell me you were projecting."

Frustrated, Jasper ran a hand through his soaked blond hair. My eyes caught for a second, but I quickly forced myself to look away. "I'm sorry, Leah, but I really have no clue what's going on and why this is happening… Your emotions are especially strong to me and now you can feel mine through physical contact? I can't help but admit that this is disconcerting. I suppose there's some kind of… connection between us, as strange as that sounds… I don't know how or why, though…"

He looked so upset that I could feel myself softening a little. I didn't dare touch him again, though, and instead busied my hands with wringing out my dripping hair. "I can you're your emotions, but it isn't the same as feeling my own… It's hollow somehow… Like I'm feeling them, but not actually _experiencing _them…" I paused to look at him, "Is that how you feel them?"

Jasper slowly nodded, "Exactly that way… The emotions don't… touch your heart, but they're strong enough to influence your mood, am I right?" I nodded. "Yes, that's how I feel everyone- er, almost everyone's emotions." _Except mine… _I couldn't help completing for him in my brain.

This whole thing was beyond weird. I had to stop thinking about it or my brain was going to pop. I sighed, "Let's just… Forget about this, ok? We'll talk to Dr. Sunshine or someone when we get back. Maybe he'll be able to sort this one out."

"Carlisle?" He asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

"That's what I said," I irritably waved him off. We were silent for a couple of minutes, both absorbed in our own thoughts. In that time frame, Emmett and Seth jumped again, this time both of them did some kind of strange, diving aerobics only supernatural creatures could. I gave them a half-hearted wave and didn't even complain as they two of them swam up to race past us back to the top, shaking water all over me…

Something then occurred to me; something I'd always wondered about but had been hesitant to ask about… "Is it hard?" I suddenly asked.

"Not yet, but with a little more foreplay, it should be fine."

I tried not to laugh. Who in this entire world made sexual cracks at such an inappropriate time? Somehow, it worked and my stiff posture loosened a bit. I shook my head, "No, I mean, is it difficult?"

He frowned down at me, "Is what difficult?"

I gestured at our proximity, "This… I may be a werewolf, but I still consider myself human… Is it difficult to… resist this close to me?" I instantly regretted the way I made his eyes darken. Maybe he didn't want to be reminded of his bloodthirsty former side. Geez, Leah, great job. You're just Miss Considerate today, aren't you? But I _had _to know.

"No, don't feel bad about your curiosity. It was curiosity killed the _cat_, remember?" He laughed.

I groaned at his lame joke, "Whatever. You don't have to tell me anything."

"Why not? You have a right to know, don't you?" He paused for a second, but I didn't say anything. "And your answer is, yes. It is difficult being around humans with blood flowing through their veins. But I'm no longer the animal I used to be with nothing in mind but my next meal and hating myself all the same. I've gone a long way since that. Hell, I've even gone a long way since trying to attack Bella." His face darkened with regret and I quickly tried to ease the pain in the angelic man's face but I had no clue what to do. I wanted to touch him, but I resisted, drawing my knees to my chest instead. Finally, he smiled down at me, "Yes, it was difficult being at that carnival with all those people left and right, but in case you hadn't noticed, Emmett and Seth were keeping a close eye on me the entire time. But I'm proud to say that even if a human was to bleed in front of me, I wouldn't attack him. Sure, I'd consider it and long for it, but I wouldn't actually do it. And that makes all the difference in the world."

My voice softened to a whisper as I idly watched Seth and Emmett wrestle up above, "What about me?" I asked in a hushed tone, "How can you sit so close to me, yet have no… no desire to…?" I didn't have to finish my sentence. He knew.

Jasper absentmindedly pushed his sodden flaxen hair out of his face and my pounding heart froze for an entire second. "I couldn't imagine doing… that to you or Seth. I don't even fantasize about it anymore. The thing is… I care too much about you to even think about it." This time, my entire brain went frozen from the struggle to process all that… Jasper cared about me? Since when? But as I thought about it… Did I care about him as well? Well, I couldn't exactly hate him after all this. But if I cared about him, then I must care about Emmett too. Ew! What has happened to my life? I guess Jake and Seth aren't the only leech-lovers anymore. Shit. I can't make fun of them for that anymore. "And besides," I blinked to focus back on what he was saying, "You guys stink. Why would I want that for lunch?"

My mouth dropped in indignation, "Well, you aren't exactly a bed of roses, BS."

He smiled back at me. It was silent again. I didn't even flinch as Emmett held Seth's struggling body over his head and dumped him in the water. He started to do some kind of barbaric victory dance. Seth popped up a second later, but stomped past us without a second glance.

It was beautiful. Overcast, cold, and windy, but beautiful, nonetheless. The roaring waterfall mere feet away from where we sat sent a cloud of mist to engulf us at all times, making the grass below us sparkle with dew drops. The air was so fresh here that I barely noticed the leech stench contaminating the area. There wasn't enough sunlight to bask Jasper in sparkles, but there was a little, lone ray of sun that peeked through cloud cover to shine directly on the waterfall's spray, making a beautiful rainbow appear directly in front of us. The scene was so picturesque and gorgeous that I wanted to stare forever, but somehow, my eye kept wandering to the even more aesthetically exquisite art form next to me.

Jasper's fingers twitched, as though he wanted to touch me, but loved life too much to try. I smiled, and reached over to brush my fingertips against his lightly. I had to admit; the compassion that flowed off his fingers warmed me just the slightest… And also the fact that Seth was now doing a crazy war dance on top of Niagara Falls with Emmett's body floundering in the water down below.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," I said as we toweled ourselves dry. We were in the parking lot, drying off. We would have stayed at the Falls longer, but a security guard kicked us out after twelve more jumps, thinking we were trying to commit suicide in the freezing, near snowing, November weather. It took every ounce of charisma Jasper had to keep him from arresting Emmett for assaulting Seth… "To New York City, then home and I'm free from you meatheads!" To my surprise, I felt slight dread creep down my back at the thought. I guess, in a strange way, I had been enjoying this roadtrip with these bozos… I suppose getting out of stuffy Forks was good for my health, even if I was with the worst company imaginable.

Emmett pouted before slinging an arm around my shoulders, "Aw, babe, admit you loved spending time with me." He flexed a bicep and wriggled his eyebrows, as though that was going to make me swoon.

I raised an eyebrow and promptly elbowed him in the stomach. "Ow!" That had hurt me more than him. I glared at him while rubbing my tingling funny bone.

He grinned at me, "Abs of steel."

I scowled and sulked away to get dressed, not feeling comfortable around Emmett in a bikini. I was just digging through my bag when Seth showed up, looking very nervous. I sighed and slipped on a shirt, "What do you want?"

He awkwardly scratched his head, "Um, Leah, I just wanted to apologize…"

I frowned at my brother, "For what?" I couldn't remember him stuffing my bras with pudding for months now.

He bit his lip, "For tricking you to go on this trip. I really thought that… I don't know, something magical would happen and you'd become bosom buddies with Emmett or something… Not exactly how things turned out. I'm sorry."

"Relax, kid. Surprisingly, this trip isn't as bad as I thought it'd be," I tugged on jeans, "Emmett's… endearing, I suppose, and I actually like BS."

Seth's jaw dropped, "You… you _what_?"

I put my hands on my hips, "Geez, I didn't know we were still in the third grade. Not _like_like, but just like, Sethy-poo. For example, I like sparkly nail polish and when anorexic models trip over their own bones on the catwalk. I like Jasper Whitlock. See? Not that bad."

"Leah, you _love_ it when models trip. You yell at the TV for hours."

"Oh, right. Er, bad example. Good example: I like you, Seth, but I don't _like _like you, of course. That'd be incest. I'd take incest over necrophilia."

Seth visibly blanched, "There we go… You know what? I take back my apology. This trip _is _good for you after all. I guess magic does exist because you're making friends!"

I glared at him, "This isn't the first day of kindergarten, Seth! Because of that, I take back my promise to Mom of never giving you another wedgie!"

His face blanched, "Apology re-given!"

I smiled, triumphant, "Fine. No wedgies. I'll have to be more creative…"

_Seth's POV_

I scouted the gas station store for strawberry Laffy Taffy with Leah while Jasper paid for gas at the counter and Emmett polished his precious car outside. I quickly passed the Sour Patch Kids, trying my best not to look at them, and was triumphant as I found the Laffy Taffy. An elderly couple gave me a strange look, but I smiled at them and all was forgotten.

Where was Leah? Why wasn't she deliberately eating Sour Patch Kids in my face to nauseate me? I looked around the small store to see her leaning against the wall, glaring at a married couple and what looked like their daughter. I quickly hurried over before she could cause any trouble.

"Leah, what are you doing?" I hissed, "You're scaring the nice, innocent customers!"

She shushed me and kept on eying the group with suspicion. "They're short."

I wanted to slap myself in the face with embarrassment, "Well, of course they are! They're dwarves! They can't help it! They have a hormone deficiency!"

Her eyes narrowed, "Have you ever wondered why they dislike being called 'midgets'?"

I quickly cupped a hand over my inconsiderate sister's mouth, glancing nervously at the three little people, "Shh! Stop being annoying!"

"Alright, I'll just tell you; it's because they're _not _midgets! They're elves!" She paused to frown, "Maybe even leprechauns…"

I groaned, "Leah-"

"Zombies don't like to be called ghosts, do they?"

"You're crazy. They're just normal people who are shorter than average. Definitely not elves, or… fairies or whatever you accused them of," I hotly said.

A slow smile spread across her face, "You're completely right, Seth!"

I frowned, "I am?"

"Yup. Just because Jasper's albino, hates sunlight, freakin' hot, and beyond creepy, doesn't mean he could _possibly _be a vampire."

My mouth dropped. Uh oh. Only one way to get out of this situation: "You think Jasper's hot?"

She didn't take the bait, "Now, I'd accuse them of being leprechauns, but they don't look very Irish, so I'm gonna have to settle with… Hobbit."

"_Hobbit_?" I replied in disbelief.

She nodded enthusiastically, "Look at their feet!" She hissed, "All of them are obviously wearing boots to cover their hairy feet!"

"Or maybe it's because it's below freezing outside?" I sarcastically offered.

"Don't be ridiculous, Seth, look at their ears; pointy!"

To my surprise, their ears w_ere _a little sharper than the average human's. I could see that Leah desperately wanted to hop over and ask them for Frodo's autograph, and I was tempted to join her… until I remembered that my sister was a raving lunatic. I grabbed her wrist to keep her from jumping after them when the three little people left. "Destroy the Ring!" She yelled after them.

They gave her strange looks. One woman sniffed loudly before they marched out the door. "Frodo lives!" She loudly exclaimed, drawing looks from other customers.

Jasper was quickly by our side, "Why are you two discussing fantasy books?"

I quickly shushed my sister, "She thinks those three little people that were just in here are hobbits…"

Leah scoffed at me, "Of course they aren't; it's why they were offended. They're obviously leprechauns." She opened the door, "Where's your pot of gold, Lucky?"

"Get lost, freak!" Someone yelled before I heard the screech of tires. I winced, but there was a happy smile on Leah's face.

"Oh, yes. Definitely leprechauns. Did you see how defensive they got?" She clicked her tongue and tried to walk over to the door but promptly tripped over her feet and nearly fell. I caught her in time. Leah giggled and pulled on my nose, "You have a silly nose, Sethy…" Her eyes widened, "Oh my god! Are you my fairy godmother?"

I exchanged a glance with Jasper. "I think she's drunk," Jasper quietly suggested.

I thought about it for a second. That made sense, as Leah was acting particularly crazy. I leaned over, but smelled no alcohol. I shook my head, "Nope. I can't smell it."

Jasper looked Leah in the eye, "Leah, did anyone give you anything suspicious to drink in the past twenty-four hours?"

"No, but I got in a Redbull chugging contest with this one chick at Taco Bell an hour ago."

"It makes sense," I told him, "Energy drinks make her hysterical and paranoid."

Jasper frowned, "Where was I when you had this… lovely interaction?"

She shrugged, "Dunno. Sleeping?"

I clicked my tongue, "Yup, this is a really bad case… we have to get her out of here before she gets herself in any more trouble… She'll probably be sober in an hour."

Leah pouted, "No! I wanna talk to the Yetti!" She pointed to the store clerk, who, unfortunately, was in rather need of a shave and…a full body wax.

Jasper's lips twitched, as though he wanted to laugh, but a glare from me sobered him up. He sighed, "You're right; we should get her away." Before I could say anything, he easily picked my sister up and slung her over his shoulder. I was about to protest the man-handling of Leah, but she shrieked in joy and grabbed fistfuls of Jasper's shirt.

"Are you _actually _an incubus, or is this just a day job?"

I nearly gagged on my own saliva, "Leah, did you… Did you just...?"

Jasper seemed almost as surprised, but a great deal more amused than I was. I glared at him to keep him from commenting. He smiled, but wordlessly carried Leah out to the car and dumped her in the front seat. Emmett whistled as he saw us, but we ignored him and climbed in.

Leah's eyelashes fluttered against her cheek, "Uh oh, she's officially crashing."

Jasper frowned, "Side effects of an over dosage of sugar?"

"Yup."

Leah groaned, "Teenage mutant ninja turtles are…" she rubbed her eye, "hairy…" She finally finished before she passed out.

"Turtles are hairless," Jasper quietly said, amused.

I ignored that, "I say we head to NYC, then let her sleep out the sugar high. We're almost there, right?"

"A hundred miles, give or take." He was in the driver's seat. A few seconds later, Emmett popped in as well.

So now I was in a car with a testosterone-addled vampire, a sugar-addled, brainless twenty-year-old female, and a dangerous "incubus" who had a strange, and very obvious obsession with that twenty-year-old… If it weren't for the fact that I got to push, in Leah's terms, the "albino Vin Diesel stunt double" off a hundred foot waterfall, this trip might not have even been worth it. Oh, well. Whatever. In a strange way, it's been fun… but I will seriously have to talk to Jasper man to man if he decides to get any closer to my sister… That was the only low point in this trip. This was supposed to be a healing process for Leah, and, in a strange way, I suppose she is healing. I never expected her to get so close to the vampires, though… And I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not.

"To New York City," I dully said. Whoo hoo. Crap. Leah's sense of humor was rubbing off on me.

* * *

The whole Leah on redbull thing might've seemed ridiculous, but BAM! I was on an energy drink high writing this. O.o And besides, it's from Seth's POV, so it could be warped a little. *nods* yup, that's the reason. Has absolutely nothing to do with a mentally disturbed author. *coughs*

Besides, it's believable! I once managed to convince my 10-year-old sister to tears that I was actually Santa Claus... And the school I go to everyday teleports me to the North Pole where I order around reindeer all day. (It doesn't help that one of my friends had the last name Rudolph...) But she finally saw through my life when I told her my dad was the Toothfairy. :/ It was fun when it lasted.

Reviews = love!

Btw, has anyone watched Inception yet? I thought I'd swoon over my lover, Leo, the whole time, but oddly enough, I was drooling at the sight of Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. . Honestly, if he went up to me right now and asked me to birth his children, I'd jump on his back. :P But then again, I might just be easy. :/ I'd do the same for Yoann Gourcuff, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell, Kaka, and Justin Bieber. I have, unfortunately, come down with an extreme case of Bieber Fever! Ow, ow!

... You know you love my nonsensical rambling. ;)


	15. Fifteen: New York City

Eep! It's been over a month! I'm soooo sorry guys, but my last year of high school just started, and I'm soooo busy with projects, and studying for the goddamn SATs and stuff. :( Ok, onto my customary rambling about my life!-

So my mom and I just spent over 2 hours driving all over the county looking for the portrait place, which shouldn't be that difficult, but we couldn't find it and gave up, so now I'm beginning to seriously reconsider our literacy skills. :( Hmm... I got bangs recently, but now I feel like I look like Silk Spectre from Watchmen, or a Silk Spectre dominatrix... Ermmm, I've realized that I have a huge English accent fetish, and would probably jump any guy in this entire world with one, so my friends are a little worried about my sanity when we go to London for our senior trip. But don't worry- they'll put me in a straight jacket. :) A freshman boy flashed me today. O.O I'm still traumatized. Like seriously, flashed me, with his shirt over his head... I don't think it was on purpose tho... And I seriously considered flashing him back to teach him a valuable lesson on unintentional flashing. I could've traumatized him real good. But I was feeling sympathetic today. :) And I think that's enough of my life for now. On to the real action!

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Jasper's POV

I could feel her eyes on the back of my head, but every time I looked up from my newspaper, Leah would be innocently staring at her lap or examining her fingernails. I frowned, but shrugged it off. I saw her fidgeting in the corner of my eye and sighed, putting my newspaper down for good. "Leah, what's wrong?" Emmett and Seth were out to see the local monster truck relay and I had agreed to watch over Leah, who woke up almost half an hour after they left, to Seth's reluctance. He had been very untrusting with me around Leah recently… Almost as though he suspected I'd try to commit adultery with her the second we were out of his sight… The very idea was... repulsing. Not because Leah wasn't gorgeous and endearing, but because I had Alice. She was my everything.

But of course, the lure of monster trucks was too much for his teenage hormones to resist, so Seth and my brother were gone for the next five hours.

Leah was suddenly directly in front of me, her eyes wide and her full lips pouting. I had to quickly conjure up a picture of Alice's face in my mind to keep from full out ogling. There was something indescribably ethereal about Leah… "You know, it's my birthday today."

I frowned, "Your birthday's in April."

She cursed under her breath, "Er- my half birthday?"

"Was in October," I easily finished, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow. Though my every instinct yelled at me to comply Leah's every wish and petty demand, this was much more amusing.

Leah groaned and got to her feet, bitterly crossing her arms over her chest, "Damn it, BS. Why the hell do you know so much about me?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Seth mentioned when your birthday was once and, believe it or not, some of us can actually do math."

She thought for a second before sighing, "Fine, I'll admit it; it's not my birthday, but I need a favor."

I was suddenly interested. When did Leah Clearwater ask for favors? This was too good. "Explain first and I'll tell you if I can legally comply."

She frowned at me for a split second before shaking it off, "Do you know who Dean O'Neill is?"

I shook my head, "I'm not too familiar with your generation's celebrities. Is he a singer?"

Leah glared at me, "No, he's only the hottest model ever in existence."

I glanced longingly at my newspaper, "That's nice, Leah."

She groaned and tossed my newspaper across the room. I looked at her in annoyance, but nonetheless, she had my full, undivided attention. "There's a Burberry show in an hour," she informed me, "Dean O'Neill walks for Burberry… I _have _to meet Dean O'Neill."

"That's wonderful, darlin'. How do you plan on doing that?" I absentmindedly asked, admiring how a loose curl from her wavy hair framed her face.

I had never seen eyelashes like hers. Laurel Butler's were the longest in the county back when I was growing up and actually gave a shit about superficial things like this, but they couldn't even compare to Leah's thick, feather-duster-like lashes, especially when they were half a foot away from your face, trying to seduce you into her every whim. I inhaled deeply, trying to distract myself with her repugnant scent, but I suppose I've gotten used to the stench for it didn't burn my nose like before… Now those lashes were hypnotizing, half-covering dark brown eyes I could melt into… I slowly exhaled my breath. It was pointless to fight. Why did I even bother? "Fine," I sighed, "Grab your coat."

Her beautiful face broke out into a brilliant smile and I suddenly realized why I'd become such an asswipe. Hell, I'd give her the whole world if she'd keep smiling like that.

Leah hastily slipped on her coat and a scarf, as it looked like it was going to start snowing, not that it bothered her, but for appearance's sake. "Thanks, Jasper," she sweetly cooed.

I wanted to say something sarcastic back, but it was impossible to be mean to Leah when she was like this… My eyes narrowed. There had to be something up her sleeve I didn't know about… But for now, I'd give her the benefit of doubt. I grabbed my coat and followed her out the door.

* * *

"You look like a model."

I blinked. Did Leah seriously just say what I think she did? "…Thanks?"

She impatiently rolled her eyes, looking at me as though I was stupid… or Emmett. "Not a compliment, bud; just a statement of fact." We were currently sitting behind the designers, right next to the runway. Amazing how far a bit of charisma and cash would go.

I frowned at her, not sure where she was going with this. She sighed at my obliviousness and pulled me by the wrist, "Come on, I'll just have to show you."

It should be illegal to give in to Leah Clearwater's every whim… Actually, it kind of was. But being as "whipped," as Emmett would call it, as I was, I couldn't resist… Which was why Leah and I were currently standing in front of the entrance backstage while she tried to persuade me to pose as a model so she could sneak in and meet Dean O'Neill… I was going to have to murder this boy when I see him.

I was made major in the Civil War at only nineteen. At twenty, I was made vampire and newborn destroyer in Maria's army. I've spent _decades_ killing and fighting and knew, within seconds, the best strategy, no matter where we stood, of bringing down my enemy. I had no sympathy, no matter how they begged, they were always lifeless at my feet in the end… Yet with one exaggerated pout, I find my resistance crumbling instantly. It was disgusting.

But then she looked over her shoulder to grin at me, a little bounce in her step, and I melted. I wanted to smile back and grab her hand so we could skip down the hall… Ugh. I was pathetic. I couldn't say I was that surprised though. I was soft around women. I was the guy who went shopping with Alice and gave Renesmee piggy-back rides and even took Rosalie's last name… I hated the fact I was born in the 1800s when chivalry wasn't dead.

"There he is!" She squealed, pointing to a dark-haired man who sat in a chair, having his make-up put on.

"Are you sure that's him?" Why, Dean O'Neill was nothing but an under-fed boy with too much make-up on. What was the big deal?

Leah nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, isn't he gorgeous?"

I had a few choice words for this Dean O'Neill, but gorgeous was definitely not one of them. "I think you mean scrawny. Feminine. Prepubescent, even."

She turned to glare at me, then quickly looked away, muttering a curse under her breath. Her embarrassment and anger filled my senses. I was suddenly anxious, "What's wrong, Leah?"

She didn't look at me, "Could you… not stand anywhere near Dean, please?"

I frowned, "Why not?"

She sighed and looked down at her shoes, "That anorexic blonde model's checking you out. Why don't you go keep her company?"

I looked around, but there were about fifty models who met her description swarming the place, "Which one?"

Leah shrugged, "Dunno. Take your pick." And with that, she made her escape.

It wasn't until she was gone until I realized that she had evaded my question. I sighed, but once I saw her shyly chatting with Dean O'Neill, I let her off the hook and smiled at the skinny redhead to my right. She nearly swooned. Suddenly, a short man with gravity-defying hair rushed out of nowhere and grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing? The show starts in fifteen minutes! Why aren't you dressed?" Before I could explain myself, he began to drag me to a rack of clothing. I opened my mouth, but realized I couldn't explain that I wasn't a model without giving myself away and getting us kicked out… And I couldn't do that to Leah. She looked so happy talking to Dean Neill. I wish I knew what they were saying.

"I don't know…" I quietly said in response to the man with the spiky hair.

He shook his head in disapproval, but quickly began pulling things off the rack. "What size are you?"

Uh oh. Alice was the one who designed my whole wardrobe. How was I to know? When I hesitated too long, the costumer whipped out measuring tape and quickly removed my coat and shirt so he could do my measurements. He whistled as my shirt came off, "Man, you've got a great bod. Do you work out a lot?"

I grimaced. If I could blush, I would have, "Er… Yeah. I do." That was basically a lie, but what could I say? Muscles just randomly pop out of nowhere when I'm sitting on my ass reading _War and Peace_?

Spiky-haired guy nodded and began pulling a shirt, the ugliest orange scarf I'd ever seen, black and green suspenders, and what looked like a bright green skirt. Uh, wasn't Halloween last month? Instead, I sighed and shook off Spiky's help to dress myself. He topped off the repulsing ensemble with a bowler hat I felt like ripping into shreds. Hopefully, I could sneak away before the show started…

"Don't forget to come back before the second half of the show for the winter collection," he tutted, shaking a finger at me, "Don't make me go looking for you."

My stomach sank… metaphorically, of course. I quickly turned my wince into a smile and began looking for Leah. After I parted my way through the army of shanks, I found Leah right where I left her; with Dean. I smiled and went over to them.

Leah took one look at me and burst into hysterics, "Oh my god, Jasper, you look like Harry Potter threw up on you! Why are you cross-dressing?"

I ignored her comment, "Who's your friend?" I asked, politely smiling at the dark-haired man at Leah's side.

He held out his hand, "Dean O'Neill."

I took it, "Jasper Whitlock." His hand was unpleasantly lukewarm on mine.

"Whoa, your hand's cold, man."

My smile twitched. Before I could say anything offensive, Leah quickly cut in, lightly grabbing my thumb so she could feel my emotions at all time, "So, what are you walking, Dean?" She asked.

"I'm closing the show," he easily said, a bit of smugness in his tone, "What about you, Jasper?"

"Just walking _twice;_ once for the fall, then the winter collection." I couldn't help but stress the word "twice." It had been a while since I was engaged in a testosterone educed show off session over a girl. It was going to be fun slamming this guy down, especially since this was over Leah.

His jaw clenched, "Well, they usually save the best for last don't they? I'm not trying to assume anything; it's just how the runway works."

"People don't all leave by then?" I tried to sound surprised. Leah's hand tightened on my thumb. She could obviously sense my bitterness and need to see this guy bleed.

Leah awkwardly laughed, "So I hear Victoria Beckham's supposed to be watching tonight."

We both ignored her. "I haven't seen you around much, Jasper," he slowly said, "Are you new to the world of fashion?"

"Yes," I easily admitted, "I've always thought fashion was more of a… _female _diversion but…" I looked him up and down, "I guess not, huh?"

His smile was more of a scowl now, "So I'm guessing this is your first show? Don't worry; I know how intimidating it can be working with us _established _models. Just don't trip and you should be fine."

Leah could feel my sudden rage, so she quickly grabbed my arm and poured calm serenity into my body. She pretended to kiss the side of my face, but instead whispered, "Play nice!" in my ear. I gave Dean another smile, suddenly not as angry as before.

"Thanks," I said, trying hard to keep the animosity out of my voice.

Dean glanced curiously at our interaction and my smile broadened as I felt his jealousy. My hand unconsciously tightened around Leah's waist. "Are you two an item?" He asked, frowning.

"Yes." I bluntly said while Leah started shaking her head and saying, "No," at the same time. Our eyes met.

"I mean, no." I quickly said.

Dean's frown deepened. Leah quickly tried to explain, "You see… um, Jasper and I were a couple… before… until I caught him cheating on me… with a… goat."

I gave her a disbelieving look. Really? A goat? I quickly smiled back at Dean, "By goat, she means her hairy friend, um, Alex."

"Who's a man." Leah quickly added.

I was exasperated. Really? Did she have to go there? "I'm bisexual," I quickly said, smiling, though I briefly flicked Leah's arm to let her know my frustration.

"And he has a foot fetish." She rolled her eyes, "Sometimes in the middle of the night, I'd feel something and there he is; sucking on my toes. It's really disgusting."

My smile widened, "And she has a roleplay fetish in the bedroom." I shook my head, "Always Star Trek, with me as Spock and her as Lt. Uhura… It's pretty nerdy, but sexy."

"He's bi-polar!" She quickly spat out, glaring at me.

"She suffers from necrophilia."

Leah opened her mouth again, but what I said seemed to process in her brain and she burst out laughing. "You wish!" She laughed, punching me in the shoulder. I was about to reply when Spiky burst out of nowhere and grabbed my sleeve.

"Come on, you're up in five!"

I followed him, but turned to smile and wave at Leah. She waved back. I could feel her amusement from across the room. Why is it so hard for everyone to believe that Jasper Whitlock can model? Huffing with indignation, I decided that I needed to show them all…

* * *

I'm still pissed off that I spent an hour doing my hair and we couldn't find the portrait place. . Yup. And as all of you smart readers can probably tell, Dean O'Neill is directly deprived from Sean O'Pry. Hahaha. Aren't I amazingly creative? ;)

Review=love

P.S. I realize that male flashing isn't considered flashing! I don't know why though... With skinny, awkward freshmen boys, it's just as disturbing... :/

P.P.S. (P.S.S.?) I finally changed the rating to M... Why has no one mentioned this to me? :( I must've corrupted many unsuspecting children. I apologize, previously innocent children!

Disclaimer: This story does not reflect the views of writer Zeurin... Well, actually... No.


	16. Sixteen: NYC cont

Hey, it's been like five months. :( soooo sorry. I've had this chapter written for over a year now, and I keep telling myself that I'm going to revise it, but it's probably never going to happen... So you guys get it raw! Yay! I know you've all been impatiently awaiting an infamous A/N, but it's three in the morning where I live and I'm exhausted. So I shall say something random and get on with the story: elf mating habits bewilder me. I shall one day quest to seek out elf-land and inquire about their sex lives, and let you all know. :)

* * *

_Leah's POV_

It annoyed me at first how Jasper was there to ruin my precious moment with Dean O'Neill. The minute Jasper stood next there next to us, suddenly Dean's beauty paled until he was a dim, minuscule pinprick of a star next to the blazing moon. The fact that Jasper was dressed like a transvestite/boy scout made no difference. But how I couldn't help but revert all my attention to the blond leech, even with Dean _fucking_ O'Neill standing next to me, bothered me more than a little… Until I remembered that Jasper was walking out there dressed like a fucking leprechaun in public… and that I brought a camera.

I quickly told Dean I was going to be in the ladies' room and slipped down to the front of the runway and take my old spot. I got my camera ready. Oh, this was too good. BS walking in a fashion show? Damn, wait until Seth and Emmett get a hold of this! Better yet, I could use this evidence for bribes… Muhahaha.

The show started and the first model walked out, an androgynous looking female with her faux blond hair slicked back. I was dismayed to find her, and every model after her, dressed as dorky as, and sometimes dorkier than, Jasper. The photographers all around me were enthusiastically clicking away and making quiet comments on the models or the clothing from time to time. I was getting bored. Suddenly, the music stopped and a new, slower song came on right as Jasper appeared and everyone was dead still in the room, astonished by this god-like being.

I was the first to break the daze by snapping a picture with my camera. Soon, clicking filled the room, almost drowning out the music along with people calling things out, but there were too many people in the vast room and I couldn't hear properly. The woman next to me whistled loudly, "Wow, that man is fine! I didn't know they made them like that at Burberry anymore."

I briefly looked at her amused, before turning my attention back on the runway. Though Jasper's face was placid and emotionless, I could see how much he loathed doing this, as good as he was. Unlike the other models, there was an unnatural grace about him, so while the others tried hard to look smooth strolling down, Jasper effortlessly glided down, like some kind of prowling wildcat… Then he twirled his skirt at the end of the run way, and jutting his hip out. It was unnerving, but oh, so hilarious.

I burst into hysterical laughter, drawing unwanted attention, as he briefly posed at the end of the runway. Oh, this was _priceless_!

On the walk back, Jasper caught my eye and gave me a little wink. I snapped a picture of him in response. Once he was gone, I quickly scrambled backstage to make fun of him. He wasn't there when I got there. Probably dressing or something. I awkwardly stood there, shifting my weight from foot to foot when Dean saw me and gestured me over. Flattered, I quickly went.

"Hi," I greeted.

"Hey," he looked slightly upset, "Your friend, Jasper, was really good out there." He seemed really uncomfortable admitting it.

So that was what this was about? Please don't tell he was intimidated by _Jasper_. He was wearing a damn skirt! I snorted with laughter, "He looked like a loser."

Dean's face brightened considerably. He inched closer, but whether that was purposefully or not, I didn't know, and didn't care. My heart fluttered in delight. It's been a while since I've been with a good-looking man… Sure, there was Jasper and Emmett, but the two of them were so good-looking that it was almost unnatural… It was nice to find a man with dark brown hair instead of those fair locks the exact color of sunlight… The most vibrant blue eyes stared at me, which were a nice change from the eerie, smoldering topaz I was used to.

"So you and albino blondie are over? Definitely?"

My breathing hitched slightly as I felt his warm breath on my cheek. "Definitely," I repeated, awed.

A wide smile spread across his face, "Good." And a second later his lips were on mine… Another second, and my arms were around his neck and I was happily kissing back…

One moment I'm making out with the man of my dreams (actually, high school daydreams, but what's the difference?) and the next, he's pinned up against the wall by a snarling, murderous vampire.

"What the hell, man?" Dean's voice was a little high and screechy when he was nervous. I tried not to wince.

"Stay away from Leah," he hissed softly, but deadly.

I laughed nervously as a group of curious models began to form around us. "They're actors," I mouthed to anyone who looked overly suspicious. I quickly rushed to Jasper and tugged on his sleeve, trying to remember that time in the fourth grade where I peed my pants in front of the whole class to give him a sense of humiliation for his actions.

"She said you broke up!" He convulsed viciously to try to loosen Jasper's grasp, but it didn't even move him one inch. "Get off me, asshole!"

"You are never to touch her again. Understand?" His voice was so low that I doubted anyone but the three of us could hear, but it sent chills down my spine.

Dean didn't respond, but desperately tried to free himself again. I quickly stepped in before this whole thing could blow up into something disastrous. "Jasper, _stop it_." My voice was so cold that he stopped in his tracks.

Jasper hesitated for a moment, his teeth grinding together, before he exhaled deeply and his grip on the cowering model loosened. I grabbed his arm and dragged him off. Though he was willing to come along, I still put force behind my actions. There was so much anger radiating off his skin I had access to that for once, the emotions were almost… solid. Not like the hollow ones I felt before. Like his anger was my anger.

But that might just be because of the fact I was seething at him as well.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded, pulling him past startled models decked in various degrees of dorkiness, to a back exit.

I instantly felt his guilt, but surprisingly, not an ounce of regret. "Leah, that man was… touching you. Kissing you."

I wanted to smack my forehead and blow a raspberry at his stupidity, but I managed to keep it together as we walked outside to a dimly lit back alley, "Duh!" I burst out, "I wanted him to!"

His face contorted into an unreadable emotion that I couldn't make out under all the anger and guilt. "Leah, you've only just met him. It's highly inappropriate for you to-"

"They call me loose. They call me easy," I said, "But which one is it? _Both_." I pulled my hand away, "Geez, gramps, we were only kissing. It wasn't like we were running away to Vegas to procreate or something," I rolled my eyes, "God, you are so… _infuriating_." And with that, I stomped away moodily.

Jasper easily followed, but chose not to say anything, thank god, so I proceeded to mumble to myself, "Damn all these overprotective assholes. What am I, like nine or something? God, they're such fucking annoying bastards…" I stomped off and flopped into the nearest taxi back to the hotel.

Seth perked up as he saw us come in and stood up to greet us, "Hey, Leah. Where'd you two-?"

"Move your obesity!" I snapped, shoving around him.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Seth curiously ask after me.

"Dude, what'd you do to her?" That was Emmett.

I could nearly hear Jasper shaking his head in exasperation, "You don't want to know."

We spent another couple of days in New York. It had begun lightly snowing the day after we arrived, so the streets and buildings were crusted with a thin layer of ice. It was stunning. Emmett forced me to go jewelry shopping with him all morning for Rosalie's birthday, but we ended up just buying the most expensive necklace in Tiffany's and leaving. Big waste of time. Why bother if he knew Rosalie wouldn't settle for anything less?

Emmett and I now sat on the couch, bored out of our lives, aimlessly flipping through channels while waiting for Seth to return with Barbie boy from the Star Trek convention or where ever the hell they were at. Of course, in our boredom, we decided to break the world record in the biggest gum bubble made.

"Wasn't it the size of a watermelon?"

Emmett scoffed, "Anyone can do that!"

"Right. And we'll be famous!"

"Everyone'll want our autograph!"

"But we'll need hairnets."

Emmett frowned at me, "Why?"

I eyed his long, curly hair, "Bad experience in the fourth grade… Would you be sad if anything happened to your afro?"

He instinctively touched his hair, "Do shower caps work?"

"Good enough."

Which is why, thirty minutes later, we sat on the couch ferociously gnawing gum, our game faces on and our hair in shower caps.

"How many *chew chew chew* pieces *chew chew chew* do you got in there?" He asked me.

"Thirteen. *chew chew chew*. You?"

"Ha! *chew chew chew* Fifteen!"

"Damn you and your fat mouth! *chew chew chew* I'll still beat you!"

"You wish, *chew chew chew* dog breath!"

At that very moment, Seth and Mr. Dixie walked in. Seth took one look at us sitting there in shower caps, rapidly chewing giant wads of purple gum, and walked away, slowly shaking his head. He obviously didn't want to know. That left hillbilly beauty queen. I glared at him. He stared warily back.

"Leah, I-"

I cut him off sharply by blowing a giant bubble and letting it burst nosily in his face. Emmett saw this and frowned, increasing the pace of his annoyingly loud chewing.

Brokeback Mountain looked a bit irritated as he sighed and ran a hand through his bleached hair, "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't realize that you appreciated strange men touching you inappropriately in public. I-"

This time Emmett's bubble burst. I was so proud. "Nice!" I chimed, slapping his hand.

Now the male Dolly Parton was a lot irritated. "You can't keep avoiding me forever. I'll do anything to make it up to you!"

I stopped chewing and looked at him for the first time. My eyes narrowed, "_Anything_?" I questioned.

Daisy Dukes nodded, "Anything."

A slow smile spread across my face, "Excellent…"

Emmett frowned, "Was that a sexual innuendo? 'Cause I can scratch that itch for you. No need to go to Bluebonnet here." He wriggled his eyebrows.

I barfed internally, "Ew! I don't want my gum vomit-flavored! Grodie!"

Chuck Norris ignored us, "So what is it you want?" He eagerly asked me, his gold eyes bright.

I smiled, "Let me shoot you."

It was dead silent for two beats. "_What_?" Hustletown blinked his confusion.

I simply pursed my lips and smiled.

An hour later, King of the Hill and I stood in the middle of a deserted road. I was proudly pointing a rifle at his chest while the hillbilly looked a little uncomfortable.

"Are you ready?" I asked. He nodded. Grinning like a mad man, I closed one eye- and fired.

Huckleberry Finn winced at the exploding sound of the gun shot and his whole body shuddered uncontrollably for an entire second.

I couldn't help it- I laughed, "Wow, scared much, Captain Mustard?" I looked around. The bullet had bounced clear off his marble skin to somewhere in the brush. _Sweet_!

Dixie Chick shook his head, "Why would I be frightened of something that has no potential of harming me?"

I scowled at him, "You were quivering like Seth before he wet his pants last year during the Muppets Halloween special!"

Sunshine Lad hesitated for a second, "I apologize… It's just that…" He visibly swallowed, "A gunshot used to be the worst sound of my life… It's difficult adjusting."

My smug smile burned off. The rifle slipped from my fingers as I was suddenly overcome with raging guilt. Man, I was so stupid! This was the same as locking a claustrophobic in a washing machine and rolling him down a hill. "Jasper, I… I'm so sorry," I breathed, taking one of his cold hands to feel just how much he hated me now.

Surprisingly, I felt no animosity. There was slight sadness as he remembered his past, but nothing else. Jasper smiled reassuringly at me and weaved his long fingers through mine, "Don't be," He gently said, shaking his head, "It's illogical for me to retain this phobia after all these years. Besides, I deserved that."

I shook my head fiercely, "No, no you didn't. No one does. I feel really bad now. How can I make it up to you?"

He looked amused, "How about you stop this unreasonable grudge against me and we'll call it fair?"

I pulled my hand out of his grasp, "How was it unreasonable? You attacked Dean O'Neill when he was making my high school fantasies come true!"

"I didn't like it," Jasper said through gritted teeth, "Just… Don't do it again, promise?"

I put a hand on my hip, "Don't do what again? Don't kiss Dean O'Neill again or don't kiss anyone again? But don't worry about the first one, 'cuz I'm pretty positive you ruined all chances with Dean for me."

Jasper looked like he was in pain, "Leah, I'm just trying to be reasonable here. You don't have to make this difficult."

"I'm being difficult?" I was outraged, "Geez, Jasper, I don't know why you're so jealous of Dean."

His forehead creased, "I don't get jealous."

"Really? You've _never_ been jealous?"

"No. Not once. Alice gets plenty of male attention, but believe me; I've never felt envy once. It's irrational to feel jealousy."

I huffed with anger and stomped away, back to the car, "You piss me off, do you know that, Jasper? Completely just drive me insane!"

Jasper hovered behind me, "Are you still upset with me?" I yanked the door open with a passion and turned to shoot my best death glare at him. He smoothly got in the passenger side next to me, "I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Damn right."

"But Leah, you're not allowed to be upset with me anymore. You shot me, remember?"

I hesitated, mid-steer and let the car glide to a stop, "You're right," I sighed, resting both hands heavily on the steering wheel. I slowly reached over to gently rest my hand against his knee. Jasper rushed to cover it with his larger one. The cool skin and rush of gratitude did feel make me feel better… I sighed again, idly twisting my fingers into his, "Help me sneak pink dye in Emmett's shampoo and we'll call it even."

Jasper's lips twitched as he squeezed my hand, "Deal."

* * *

That was supposed to be two chapters, but I've compressed them into one as an apology for taking so long to update. Forgive me? This is the last of the chapters I wrote last summer. All chapters after this are fresh ones I'm writing as I go. So it's going to take time, but I promise that this story will be finished at all costs!

Reviews = love


	17. Seventeen: Texas

Hi... Remember me? :( I know. It's been over half a year... Don't hate me! I've just been so distracted by applying for college and AP testing and all that jazz. I got into U.C. Berkeley, my dream college since I had the mental function to dream, so it all paid off! Yessss! But then my parents sent me to live with my grandparents for the summer, so I got nothing done, and meanwhile, I got addicted to writing actual novels and screenplays, which made me neglect my fanfiction work... Sorry!

I know that this chapter doesn't really make up for it, because it's so short, but I had to break it up somehow. So many of you guys are getting impatient and annoyed with the slow progress but don't worry! Next chapter's pretty great. And I absolutely cannot wait for them to get to California. I wrote out that scene maybe three years ago, before I wrote anything else, so this entire story really leads up to California! So if you guys just bear with me, I promise that you're in for a treat! ;)

* * *

"We're all finally in good ol' Texas!" Emmett crowed in happiness.

"Shut up, gay strawberry," I growled, throwing a blob of butter off my bagel at his head.

Emmett easily dodged, "Whoa, man, not the hair! I'm, like, really diggin' this dye job!" He said, twirling a hot pink curl around his finger.

I glared at Jasper, as though this was all his fault. He shrugged, "I tried to tell you Emmett would only enjoy it…"

"Like totally."

"It comes off in three to five days more days," I growled at him, "Do you really need to continue speaking with a gay valley girl accent?"

"Like, chill, girlfriend!"

I hit him hard in the arm. Seth rolled his eyes, "I'm getting coffee."

Emmett huffed with anger, rubbing his sore arm, but decided not to cross me as he got up to join Seth. That left just me and Jasper to figure out where to go from here.

"I've crossed this area many times," he quietly said, "But that was by foot. I'm not sure if I could figure out how to navigate us through with just that knowledge alone. A lot has changed here in the past hundred years."

_Hundred years…_ I felt something foreign contract in my stomach and I put down my bagel, unable to eat anymore. _Hundred years…_ He'd been around for so long… He was like one of the figures in my ancient history textbooks in high school… I couldn't help but feel small and insignificant. My twenty years of life meant nothing compared to his century and a half. What would that make this? A breeze of irrelevance in his timeless forever? What about me? Another faceless figure lost in the sea of countless faces of his past? He said he cared about me. But this was Jasper; compassion was his forte. Did I mean anything to him? In a hundred years, when he looked back on his memories, would this long month spent with me mean anything to him? Would he still remember? Well, of course he would. He was a vampire. They had photographic memories. That wasn't really what I was worried about.

What was more important was how he felt. He always knew how we felt, but what about him? I needed to know what mattered. I knew that Alice and his family and friends like Peter and Charlotte were important to him, people he would forever remember and cherish, but what about me? After this trip, what would happen? Would I see him again? Would we continue on with this strange friendship? Or would we continue being the vampire and werewolf nature intended and pretend that nothing ever happened? Ignore each other on the street? He didn't need me. He had his large, loving family. Everyone respected him; I was nothing to him. But he meant more to me than I'd ever admit. How would I survive without someone to sympathize, to talk to, to be overprotective over the stupidest things, to understand me, to hold my hand and make the troubles of the world disappear?

I wish I didn't have a tough, bitchy reputation to live up to. Because then, I could run into his arms, crying, and he could hold me until neither of us remembered why I was sad in the first place. I needed warmth in this world. And Jasper's cold arms could bring me more warmth than any warm-blooded human ever could. I was still trying to figure out why, but I was inexplicably drawn to him. More than I've ever been to another human being in my entire life. More than even Sam. I could remember enjoying his special smiles and the jokes he reserved just for me. But now… I felt like I was caught in a strange obsession. We used to have an equally beneficial relationship. I was his ecstasy and he was my Vicodin. But now I was addicted; completely dependent. I could not let him go. And this scared me.

"Leah," I jumped at the sound of my voice, breaking out of my reverie to find a worried Jasper right in front of me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, plastering on a bright smile for him. He would never know how relieved I was to see him at that second. "Yup. As right as rain."

He still looked worried, but just being around him filled the gap in my chest more efficiently than his powers ever could. Who knew what was going to happen once this trip was over? All I knew was that these were some of the best days of my life. And I wasn't about to ruin the remainder of them with my paranoid worries. I lazily stretched like a cat, then moved closer to I could see the map as well.

"We're in Marshall," Jasper said, pointing to an insignificant speck on the vast map.

I squinted, "Cool. Where next? Dallas is right there-" I pointed to a huge overwhelming dot a bit away from Marshall, "But we'd have to go west…"

"That sounds good." Was it just me, or was his tone strangely emotionless? I mean, it's always stoic, but this was his hometown. Shouldn't he be singing Dixie and yelling "Death to Santa Anna!"?

I frowned at him, "Aren't you a Hustle Town baby? We can go down south instead and-"

"Dallas is fine." His tone was surprisingly stern.

I looked closely at his face. He glanced up at me and I saw a flash of pain on those molten eyes before he fixedly looked down at the map again. My lips tightened. "Jasper." He didn't even look at me but his jaw clenched ever so slightly. I sighed, "Whatever it is, you know you can tell me, right?"

There was a slight pause as his hand curled into a fist around the map. Finally, he looked up, his gold eyes burning. "You must think of me incredibly pathetic but…I don't think I could take seeing Houston… Too many memories."

He looked away and my heart seared with emotion. I needed to make this all better somehow. I bit my lip. "Jasper, that's not pathetic." My voice softened, "You don't even know what pathetic is… When… when Sam left…" I swallowed loudly, "I- I begged for him to come back." I let out a short bark of self-loathing laughter, "Like on my knees full out groveling. Now _that _is pathetic."

His face softened, "No, that's not pathetic." His voice was soothing, hypnotic. But he didn't use his powers. He didn't dare. "Completely reasonable. You were in love, Leah. People in love do crazy things."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure. Would you beg Alice?"

He hesitated, "No, but-"

"Exactly. You have too much self-respect… God, I was the most-"

"I thought the song 'Knock You Down' was about abortion!" He quickly blurted out.

I blinked, "_What_?"

He looked a little sheepish. "Knocked up? Knocked down?" He shrugged, "It seemed reasonable at the time. Pathetic, eh?"

I stared at him for a full second. Then I burst into laughter. "Oh, lord, Jasper! _Abortion?_" I choked out between fits of laughter.

"Ok, maybe American entertainment isn't that obscene yet, but-"

"_Abortion_?" I cracked up again.

Jasper gave me a look, but couldn't hide the small smile on his face.

"Like what's crack-a-lackin' girlfriend?" Oh God, gay strawberry was back. "Does this sock make me look fat?"

"We're taking Seth to get drunk and laid, k?" Emmett casually said as he walked past me. The pink dye had finally washed out (well, after Seth and I shot water guns at him until he cowered in the corner) and, though his hair was still fluffy and poodle-like, it was fluffy and poodle-like in a decent color.

I glanced up from my magazine to look at my distressed brother vigorously shaking his head at me, "How old's Seth again?"

"Barely sixteen."

"Kay. Have fun guys." I focused on my magazine again.

Seth was beyond distraught. "Leah! I'm underaged! How could you let someone like Emmett take me out and corrupt my innocence?"

I waved him off, "Relax, just take Jasper with you. He'll spoil all the fun."

Seth paused for a second, "Actually, that just might work."

I nodded, "See? This'll be a fun experience for you. Male-bonding time! Like a chick slumber party minus all the sexy pillow fights." I winked at him. "Knock yourself out and don't let Emmett talk you into doing anything that involves more than two bodies in one bed."

Emmett heard. "What? And take the fun out of things? Geez. We're already stuck with Captain Sunshine here. Maybe we should wear chastity belts as well."

"That's not a bad idea!" I exclaimed brightly.

His face twisted into a grimace, "Never mind. Let's get out of here." He quickly ushered Seth out the door.

"Don't forget; girls have cooties!" I yelled after them.

* * *

Ok, I know my ANs annoy some of you, but I can't NOT share, you know? I feel like we have a lot to catch up on: So I fell off a step and broke my wrist. That was fun. My mother was worried that people might mistaken me for a hooker the other day. A gay guy walked in on me changing because I didn't bother to lock the door, and I think he was more traumatized than I was... Um... I love the show Dexter, but I can't watch it for too long bc it's so stressful that I feel like it gives me heartburn. I couldn't mind my 3D glasses at the movies for about 15 mins and freaked out until I realized they were ontop of my head the entire time. I tried dying my hair blonde but it went neon orange. And I'm probably gonna fail college that starts next week because I'm so used to being off track like I am right now. Yup. That just about sums up the last few months. I promise I won't disappear on my loyal readers like this again. :(

Reviews = love and a faster update!


	18. Eighteen: Dallas

Hey hey! I'm back with another one. So I just realized, looking over these chapters, that the formatting's all messed up online... I should really go back and fix it. Oh well. One day. I'm pms-ing, sleep-deprived, and over-dosed on peppermint patties, so I really don't have much to rant about today... So enjoy!

* * *

_Jasper's POV_

Dallas sure had lovely weather. It was especially nice outside at night, when the cool winds sheathed the city in a blanket of darkness. When nothing could be heard but the occasional passerby and the hum of electricity through the quiet buildings. I loved it. There was that delicious, familiar scent of pure Texan earth beneath all the urbanization that sent a wave of nostalgia through me. God, I missed all this.

In fact, I volunteered to go the groceries just for this time alone. This was my land. I belonged to it. Every fiber of my being relished in this reunion. Though this wasn't my hometown, it was close enough. I had visited this city a dozen times and had spent countless hours walking down these same streets… except minus all the concrete sky-high towers.

My uncle moved here in 1855 when Dallas was nothing more than a group of happy-go-lucky European artisans trying their hand at fortune. When we visited in '57, it was still nothing more than a handful of settlers scattered through the land. I remember hating the six months spent there, preferring my bumbling, rapidly growing hometown. The next time I visited, I was dead.

I was chasing a trio of newborns across New Mexico when I unexpectedly ended up too far east in Dallas. The changes that had occurred in the city surprised me. Of course, they were nowhere near as drastic as the ones that had taken place in the last couple of decades, but to see a ramshackle frontier go to a bustling little city was still astonishing. Numerous half-forgotten human memories, pushed to a dark crevice of my mind, came flooding back.

I couldn't eat. Couldn't go on to hunt down the newborns. I spent days just walking up and down the streets, wondering if each person I passed was a cousin or nephew. I kept walking until my eyes were a shade of black dark enough to draw shivers down a casual passerby's spine and until all my senses disappeared and I was once again the mindless blood-craving animal I despised so much. It was the first time I willingly resisted blood. However, the consequences of that week weren't something I was proud of.

Maria found me three days later, on a warm Sunday morning inside a church. All its occupants were dead. Blood splotched the mosaic glass windows and coated the treasured cross on the wall with a layer of crimson. Not even their beloved God could save them that time. I had never hated myself so much.

I turned the corner and smiled at an elderly woman crossing the street with her two little dogs. She was extremely flattered. I kept walking. A whiff of incense caught my attention and it was from the open door of a small white church. A sense of dread crept down my spine. I clenched my jaw tight and picked up my pace.

That was all in my past now. There's no sense to look back. I'm not that person anymore. The others are probably wondering what's taking me so long. I must get back so they won't worry. Though there was nothing they needed to worry about. I was simply taking a nice, nostalgic stroll after an errand run.

Dallas sure had lovely weather.

* * *

I walked into the room and there was Leah. At once, I felt an inexplicable lightness, almost as though a heavy burden had been removed. It was an almost giddy feeling. She was so beautiful sitting there, casually browsing through the channels, looking like a Roman masterpiece you'd find in the halls of the Louvre.

"Hey," she nonchalantly greeted, turning her head to shoot me a smile.

Immediately, I felt the desire to rush over and tackle her to the ground. If I could have one wish granted, it was to be able to curl up into her and stay there for decades, just taking in the essence of Leah. It was ridiculous how much I wanted her, 24/7. If she knew how many times I thought about her in an hour, she would be beyond frightened. In fact, those very thoughts frightened their owner as well. And I had absolutely no clue why I was so infatuated.

"Hey," I casually said back, forcibly tearing myself away to set down the groceries.

Leah clicked to an immature adult carton. "Seth is at a club with Emmett," she informed me, "I suggest you get down there as soon as possible before they do something embarrassing."

I dropped the loaf of bread I was holding. "_What_?" Ah. Figures. Leah never failed to make my life more interesting.

She shrugged and flipped the channel again, waving her hand nonchalantly at me in a shooing fashion. I sighed, managing to put the milk in the fridge before I dashed out the door to find them…

It was loud, crowded, sweaty, and simply uncomfortable, to say the least, in the room. I was already beginning to develop a sharp pain in my forehead from the unnecessarily loud music the DJ insisted on booming at outrageous volumes, and from the reek of sweat pouring off the horny college kids. Repulsive. If I could, I would be the one vomiting in the corner, not that poor boy with the excessive amount of gel in his hair.

"I now understand why clubs are so fun," I sarcastically bit, my voice nearly indistinguishable under the booming music, but my two supernatural companions heard me just fine.

"Yeah, aren't they great?" Emmett happily crowed. I stared at him blankly. Did he really just miss all that sarcasm? Maybe there was a crucial piece of his brain missing, like Rosalie always said. I looked Seth's way, but that poor kid was too busy choking down a glass of water after his first taste of whisky.

I sighed in sympathy. The effects of alcohol were something I could never forget from my human life. The head-splitting pain, the nausea and the regret. Ugh. "Maybe it's best if we just leave."

There was no answer from either of them. I looked around to find that Emmett had already deserted me and was in the direct center of the mosh pit, whooping with joy and doing some strange jiggle most people would not consider dancing. I had to get him out of there before someone reported his seizure attack to the ambulance.

Seth had finished gulping down water and was now softly gagging into a napkin, trying to expel all remnants of that awful liquor out of his mouth. I put a hand on his shoulder and steered him away from the bar. "Now that we've suffered from Emmet's version of fun, let's get back, shall we?"

Seth miserably nodded. His extreme nausea was sending a slight pounding in my forehead. I couldn't wait to drop him off and get as far away as I could from him. Right now, I concentrated on trying to keep him level-headed enough to continue walking. If anything went wrong, Emmett could carry the two of us back.

Finally, we managed to fish Emmett out from the midst of the human mosh pit. I don't know why the adolescents of this current generation enjoyed clumping together to hump strangers so much, but the things people were doing in the middle of the mosh pit made me want to censor Seth's eyes. Especially what Emmett was doing. I groaned, making mental note to tattle on him to Rosalie, and grabbed his arm to forcibly tear him out of there.

"Emmett!" I hissed, "You can't get drunk! Stop acting like you are!"

"Get yah hands off o' me, mistah!" Emmett said, wagging a finger I wanted to break at me, "Ah'll tell yah one more time; Ah ain't interested, sir!"

My beautiful sister was sensible, a little conceited at times, but very bright. How the hell did she get stuck with this dimwitted fuck-tard? Annoyed, I grabbed his wrist and easily flung him over my shoulder. Luckily Emmett didn't protest or he could easily crush me with all his unnecessary mass. Seth went over my other shoulder. He banged against my back half-heartedly, complaining about this blow to his manhood, but was too sick to really do anything. Emmett, on the other hand, was full out enjoying this, yelling at me to "go faster, horsie!"

The mosh pit parted like the red sea for us. People gasped and pointed with wide eyes at my seemingly impossible feat. It pissed Emmett off, "Hey!" He yelled at them over the music, "I'm not _that _fat! Why is it so surprisingly that I can be carried? Fat people have feelings too, ya know!"

I sighed and "accidently" rammed his hard head against the wall on our way out. "Put me down!" Seth demanded.

I hesitated, "Are you going to be able to stand on your own?"

"I'm sixteen!" He hotly said, then paused as he realized one of the guards was too closer, "Er- twenty-one… I can stand on my own!"

"Ok…" I reluctantly put him down, and decided that Emmett probably wouldn't try to run off again, and dumped my brother on his ass.

"Let's just get back," Seth said as we maneuvered our way past the crowd of people, "I hate alcohol."

"I think you're just a lightweight!" Emmett said, disgusted. He motioned for an attractive female waiter, who was dressed more the part of one of the half-naked strippers grinding against each other onstage, to come forward with her tray full of drinks.

I couldn't stop staring at her as she came closer. My eyes hungrily raked up and down her luscious form. The tag on the front of her see-through shirt read "Giselle." And Giselle was perhaps the most alluring creature I'd ever encountered. Long legs stretched indefinitely. Graceful neck curved perfectly for a mouth to graze. Skin so dark, it glowed in the florescent lighting. It reminded me of a thick clump of blood- the onyx color it gets when gushing from a vein. And her scent. Oh, her scent. It was so spicy that I needed to blink to keep my eyes from smarting. Saliva formed in my mouth and I could feel the venom streaming. I couldn't see anything anymore, blinded by her scent.

Giselle noticed how I stared and she blushed. That was the last straw. The blood flowing under her skin- _blood_! I couldn't help it anymore. Emmett realized it at once. We lunged- colliding into each other in a sickening sound of crashing concrete. Belatedly, Seth dove to save Giselle, but it was too late.

* * *

-insert dramatic music here- Stick around to find out what happens. Boom. Cliffhangers. I'm so evil. :) Imagine, me in a Dracula outfit playing an organ in an abandoned church after hours while laughing manically... I don't know. That just sounds super evil and bad ass to me. :/

Reviews = love!


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